


The Woman who Climbed from Cinder

by CherryBlossom402



Category: Naruto, Naruto (Anime) RPF, kakasaku - Fandom, kakashi and sakura, sakura - Fandom
Genre: Action & Romance, Alpha Hatake Kakashi, Anbu Hatake Kakashi, Drama & Romance, F/M, Hokage Hatake Kakashi, Lemon, POV Haruno Sakura, Protective Hatake Kakashi, Romance, Strong Female Characters, Strong Haruno Sakura, Tragic Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-25
Updated: 2021-01-11
Packaged: 2021-03-05 05:42:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 25
Words: 87,813
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25499275
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CherryBlossom402/pseuds/CherryBlossom402
Summary: Book Two of the Haruno Series"Your armies won't keep me out, I don't want your name and I'll never call you family. But I will tell you one thing, not a damn thing can save you now. You wanted a fight, so now I'll be bringing you a war. I am coming to burn your kingdom to the ground, because I am the Reaper." -Sakura HarunoA Sakura and Kakashi Story
Relationships: Haruno Sakura/Hatake Kakashi, Haruno Sakura/Uchiha Sasuke, Hyuuga Hinata/Uzumaki Naruto, Hyuuga Neji/Tenten, Katou Dan/Tsunade, Nohara Rin/Uchiha Obito, Sai/Yamanaka Ino
Comments: 191
Kudos: 86





	1. Chapter 1

_**P.O.V. Naruto Uzumaki** _

Hinata stood in front of me, my head slightly lifted upward as she fixed my black tie; I could never seem to get them straight. I looked down at her and frowned, seeing the dreary expression reflexing inside her lavender eyes. I faked a smile as I cupped the side of her soft face, I wanted to make her happy but...today July 21st was my least favorite day of the year.

"It's going to be ok." These familiar words who haunted my nightmares tasted sour in my mouth as Hinata simply nodded, turning from me to finish getting herself ready.

I sighed feeling heavy as she walked into the bathroom without responding to my comment, I missed her flowering smile and bright eyes. I knew I wouldn't be seeing them today or even tomorrow, there was nothing I could do to cheer her up which made me feel even worse even though it was something that was out of my control.

I walked into the bathroom leaning against the wooden door frame I watched her put on her favorite necklace. I stared at it's reflection for a long second, I remember the day Kakashi and I picked out that star necklace for Sakura to give to her on our first Christmas with her when she blew back into our village and hearts from being declared fallen.

Sakura's necklace charm was discovered during the village clean up after Malachite and his reapers attacked us and ever since then Hinata wears the same necklace everyday.

Hinata caught my reflection in the mirror, I weakly smiled.

"I'm sorry." Hinata's light voice made me grimace.

"There is absolutely nothing to apologize for."

"I have been so distant lately..." Hinata sighed, "...I don't mean to be but-"

"I know." I nodded, wrapping my arms around her. "It's hard to believe it's been two years without Sakura."

"It feels like it's been forever since I have seen her." Hinata looked up at me, tears filling her eyes as she did so. I lightly sighed, pulling her into me as she began to cry on my shoulder.

Today, was the second-year anniversary of Sakura Haruno's death. She was the commander of the waterfall village, but she died protecting me and my villages hokage.

I pulled my lips together, feeling the familiar guilt picking at the back of my head, I was the reason she died.

"We are going to be late." I pulled away from Hinata who nodded, wiping away the tears from under her eyes.

"Right." She agreed.

A lot has changed since Sakura has been gone, Hinata and I lived together inside my apartment. She doesn't talk to her parent's much now, I had my parents back and I now knew how it felt to have them around. That's why I felt responsible and horrendous about her losing contact with them.

I wanted Hinata to try and make up with her father, but he disapproved of our relationship, he tried to forbid Hinata from seeing me. This was the event that pushed Hinata to move in.

It was a storming night. I was doing my normal nightly routine, halfway through bottle of rum when someone started to bang on my front door, when I opened it, I saw Hinata with large tears streaming down her face. The very next day I moved her into my home.

"Damnit Raiden!" Carver's voice vibrated through the walls of the apartment building, I smiled hearing they had finally returned home. "You left the fucking front door open again!"

"I did not!"

"You were the last one out." Carver said.

"So what?" Raiden sighed, "It isn't like anyone is going to walk in and steal-"

"I am not cooling the entire leaf village down!" Carver snapped making me chuckle to myself.

Those two come and go from the waterfall and the leaf village, I hated it, but I couldn't stop them. At first, they went to the waterfall village to help protect it, but after months passed and everything seemed to be fine, they kept on going back.

I didn't blame them, I really couldn't their team returned from the dead so naturally they would want to spend time with them, but that was two years ago, and they still return to the waterfall village almost every weekend.

I couldn't stop the feeling like I was losing my two friends and my team was on the brink of crumbling apart.

The Nine which was the team Sakura, Carver and Raiden were on before they all had thought to have been killed, returned from the dead. Sakura never got the chance to see her old team freed, she was killed the same day they returned.

After the Nine was able to keep the waterfall shinobi at bay and not raise Purgatory they then decided to remain inside the waterfall village despite Carver and Raiden protesting their decision.

"Are you ready?" Hinata asked walking into the living room.

"Yeah." I turned to her, "You?"

"Yes." Hinata's smile was small and forced but I took it extending my hand out for her to take. We left our apartment, I turned to quickly lock the front door.

"Hey!" Raiden called as he and Carver came into the hallway.

"Hey guys." I smiled at them. "Welcome home."

"Thanks." Carver nodded, I heard Sasuke's door open.

"When did you get back?" Sasuke questioned.

"Just now!" Raiden smiled.

"Pushing it a little close don't you think?" Sasuke questioned with a tight tone, I internally groaned feeling the fight gearing up.

Unlike me, Sasuke was vocal about Carver and Raiden always being gone inside a different village. Due to this Sasuke and I have been stuck on boarder patrol which has been tremendously painful.

"We are here on time, aren't we?" Carver countered, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Barely."

"Why are you even going?" Raiden turn to glare at Sasuke, "She didn't like you-"

"Alright!" I called trying to stop a fight from brewing today, "Let's go!"

"Where is Kakashi?" Raiden wondered turning to his closed apartment.

"I-I don't know." I sighed; I hadn't seen much of Kakashi in the past months, for a few weeks it was like he almost vanished, but I saw in walking in the street, so I knew he was at least alive. "Come on, we are going to be late." I lightly pulled on Hinata to follow me and luckily, she did.

Conversation was quiet between us as we made our way to the training grounds where Tsunade had set up a memorial service for Sakura. I wasn't sure if the silence was because we were all missing her and remembering the events that led to her death, or if we were all just growing apart.

"Hinata!" TenTen called with a wave of her hand, she had waved us a row of seats. The training grounds was converted with rows of chairs and tables, after the memorial was over there would be a nice dinner held inside the arena.

"Thank you." I smiled at her, taking a seat behind her. TenTen sat beside Neji, that was another change inside the village. Neji and TenTen were now officially a couple, it had only been a few months, but it was still odd to see Neji flirt or be affectionate to another living person.

"How are you guys holding up?" Neji asked over his shoulder.

"Just peachy." Carver answered.

"The Waterfall Village ok?" TenTen wondered,

"Yeah." Carver answered, I sighed feeling a little relieved.

For a few weeks right after Sakura was killed, Tsunade and the other villages were panicked that we would have to go to war against the waterfall village.

"Check out who's here." Carver nodded towards the left; I followed his eyes until I was looking at the side lines. I saw Kakashi standing beside Itachi, Diem and Dawn.

"I guess that is where Kakashi has been." Raiden said leaning back in his seat.

"Why didn't they come back with you guys?" I wondered.

"Don't know." Carver shrugged. "I hadn't seen much of Dawn."

"You're inside her village, she moved into Sakura's house and that is where you stay." Sasuke stated clean facts, "How don't you see her?"

"Dawn and Diem work their asses off to keep that village running." Carver answered, "They don't hang out on their couch watching Saturday cartoons like Naruto does-"

"Hey!" I defended myself, why was I being brought up into this?

"You know I say that with love."

"Do you?" I wondered.

"Of course." Carver flashed a smile.

"I want to start by thanking everyone for coming today-" Tsunade's voice ended our conversation, turning towards the stage where my hokage stood for once I gave her my full attention.

Out of all the new changes inside my home, I wasn't expecting Granny Tsunade to be one them. Dan, her boyfriend who had returned from under the Reapers control proposed to her, they have been married for one year now.

"Hey-" Carver whispered, leaning over Raiden getting closer to me.

"Shh." Voices shushed us from all directions, Carver rolled his dark colored eyes.

"-what are you doing after this?"

"What?" I questioned, scrunching my face up. "There's a dinner after this for-"

"You and I both know Sakura hated crap like this." Carver said,

"It's for her memory." I stated.

"If that was the case then we would all be cracking open a can of her favorite beer and drinking until we didn't know our names." Raiden muttered joining in on the conversation.

"Would Sakura really not like this?" Hinata whispered from my side, I groaned leaning my head back.

"No way in hell." Carver smiled, "I can almost feel her rolling her eyes at us right now."

"Kind of hard for her to do that when they were burnt-"

"Raiden." Carver snapped, his face draining from all amusement.

"What?" Raiden defended himself, "Why are we even here? This isn't for Sakura's 'memory' it's for the leaf village to feel better about themselves."

"It is not-"

"It really is." Carver cut me off.

"How do you even know she wouldn't like this?" I wondered. "Tsunade worked hard to put this all together."

"Um..." Raiden muttered, "...because we knew her?"

"So, did we!" I raised my voice earning a few looks, but I didn't care.

"This is not a competition." Carver sighed, "We know what she wanted should she die because we talked about it, did you and Sakura ever talk about what her or even your final wishes would be?"

"N-No..."

"Exactly." Carver said.

"This would kind of..." I looked around at all the sad faces. "...bore her."

"Yeah." Carver laughed. "It really would."

"Then why are Dawn and Diem here?" I wondered,

"To get a break." Raiden answered.

"A break?" I asked, "A break from what?"

"A lot has changed Naruto." Carver said, "But the Waterfall Village isn't one of those changes. Those soldier's still go after Dawn, granted it's not half the army like it was before but Dawn is still a target inside her own village. That feeling gets tiring, it's why Sakura was here as much as she could be."

"For a break?"

"Yeah, this village gave her the room to breathe that she needed." Carver confirmed making me smile, knowing that Sakura came here willingly and not just because of Kakashi made me feel...relieved.

"Do you know what has been going on with Kakashi?" Raiden wondered out of the blue, I turned peeking through the crowd. I could see his silver hair as he stood beside Dawn and Itachi on the sidelines.

"I have no idea." I muttered, "Why?"

"No reason." Raiden shrugged, "He has just seemed a bit more...off, these past few weeks."

"He has been 'off' since the day Sakura died."

"Yeah, but it's different now." Raiden turned to Carver, "He doesn't seem like himself."

"He loved her." Carver sighed, leaning back against his chair. "He planned on marrying her, he regained his memory of her right as she died. I assume that would fuck anyone up."

"Maybe..." Raiden muttered but didn't sound convinced.

"What are you two going to do after this?" Hinata wondered, I turned to my two-teammates wondering the same thing.

"We are not going to that dinner." Raiden sounded determined to be any other place than a place where they would be giving out free food, I didn't understand.

"You two didn't go last year either." Hinata remembered.

"Nope." Raiden said, "The only reason we are here now is for you guys."

"But why?" Hinata went on, "This memorial service is to remember Sakura and everything she did for us, why wouldn't you want to be here?"

"She didn't want shit like this." Carver groaned sounding agitated,

"But why-"

"Sakura was the Commander of her village; she went to hundreds of these things and hated every single one of them. She never wanted anything like this held in her name because she knew how boring and painful these events were."

"What would you do then?" I asked,

"We are having a bonfire."

"A...bonfire?" I slowly asked, making sure I heard him correctly.

"Yup." Raiden smiled,

"I had to drag her to the one we had here!" I didn't understand, "Why would that be better than this!?"

"Because I can feel her there more than I can feel her here." Carver answered, looking into my eyes I saw his pain, I saw how much he missed her.

"Did you have a bonfire last year?" Hinata drew the conversation,

"Yeah." Raiden answered, "We tried talking to Tsunade about it, but she wouldn't hear of it. She is dead set on having this boring ass service every year."

"Sakura did save her life." TenTen muttered from up front, had she been listening this entire time!? Rude. She turned looking at us with large brown eyes, "It makes sense she would want to have a memorial every year for her."

"I get that." Raiden shrugged, "But she should have listened to us when we tried to explain these events suck."

"Lady Tsunade and listening doesn't sound right together." Neji added on, he had a point there. Granny does not listen to anyone expect herself.

"Can we come?" Hinata's voice broke me from my thoughts.

"Huh?" I asked turning to her.

"To the bonfire." Hinata clarified for me.

"Sure." Carver shrugged.

"Should we bring anything?" TenTen asked inviting herself and Neji.

"Whatever alcohol you want to lose your name to." Carver smirked making our small group giggle, getting us shushed by the surrounding crowd once again.

"Prudes." Raiden folded his arms over his chest and huffes.


	2. Chapter 2

_**P.O.V. Naruto Uzumaki** _

"Hey!" Raiden waved, I smiled waving with my free hand as we stepped through the tree lining. Hinata and I found our way to where Carver and Raiden were holding this bonfire for Sakura. I picked up a case of beer and a few wine coolers for Hinata and here we are!

"This place is so pretty." Hinata looked around at the clearing, I glanced around seeing the collection of cherry blossom trees, the soft grass under my feet and a small clear river flowed through.

"I didn't know this place existed." I commented.

"Not a lot of people do." Raiden said.

"I lived here my entire life." I laughed, "How did you two know about it and I didn't?"

"Well..." Raiden shrugged sounding uncomfortable.

"Sakura." Carver answered.

"Huh?"

"Sakura showed us this place."

"R-Really?" My heart skipped as I took another look around.

"Yeah, this is where she came to escape or something when she lived here."

"I had no idea..." I breathed,

"Yeah..." Carver muttered joining Raiden in the uncomfortable silence. It took a moment to click, this was where Sakura came when our team ditched her. My heart hurt as I looked to the ground.

"So!" Raiden tried to change the subject, he moved to a small fire pit. "We brought chairs." He guesterred to the fold out camping chairs.

"Thanks." Hinata giggled picking the purple one to sit on. I sat the case of beer next to Carver's as I plopped down next to Hinata.

"So, this is where you guys hang out?" I questioned, the light fragrance of flowers filled the air, the trickle of the river behind me was peaceful. I could see why she would come here.

"Yeah." Carver said opening a can, it foamed up spilling down the sides.

"Fuck." Carver cursed quickly drinking the beer, I laughed at his annoyed expression.

"Did you invite Kakashi?" Raiden wondered.

"I couldn't find him." I said,

"Neither could we." Raiden sighed, "I don't know what has been going on with him but it's annoying."

"He is just dealing." Carver shrugged.

"It's been two years." Raiden commented,

"Yeah." Carver nodded looking at his teammate, "Are you over the fact Sakura died?"

"N-No..." Raiden muttered.

"Exactly." Carver nodded taking a seat across from me as Raiden went to light the fire.

"It seems-" Raiden said after sparking the fire to life. "-the more time passes by without her the harder it is to believe she is gone."

"I know." Carver leaned back looking up at the clear sky. "It feels like she is just inside the Waterfall Village and she will ride into the village any day now."

"If only." I agreed, happy to know I wasn't the only one who hadn't moved on from losing Sakura.

"Hey!" TenTen called coming into view, we turned seeing her waving her arms. "We made it!"

"We can see that." Carver commented not moving from his lazed position in his chair. TenTen and Neji moved into the light radiating from the small fire.

"Hey guys!" Hinata smiled, TenTen sat beside her.

"Already feeling it Hinata?" TenTen laughed, I smiled looking at my girlfriend. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes bright with the numbness alcohol brought.

"Where's Sasuke?" Neji wondered, an annoyed lump in my stomach formed.

"He didn't want to come." I answered.

"Why?"

"Because he is an asshole." I muttered sipping my can of cold beer.

"So!" Raiden pulled the attention onto him. "There's a reason we asked you to come here."

"Yeah?" I asked. "Why is that?"

"We were hoping we could get you and Sasuke but I already know what he is going to say so it's whatever."

"What?" I laughed. "What's-"

"Naruto-" Carver called over my voice. "-Raiden and I we...we put in a request to be removed from Team Seven." I looked from Carver to Raiden, the campfire went dead still as TenTen and Neji looked everywhere except us.

"I'm sorry-" Carver went on, "-we wanted to tell you but-"

"But what?" I snapped up. "Your abandoning our team!?"

"We are not-"

"Yes, you are!"

"Will you sit down-"

"No!" I yelled, "Why are doing this?!"

"If you sit down, we can have an adult conversation about this."

"I don't want to sit down! Your leaving to go back to the Waterfall Village, aren't you?" I accused. "You're going back to the Nine-"

"No, we are not." Raiden said, "You're just throwing accusations around and not letting us talk."

"You made a commitment to our team!"

"We didn't want this to be a fight." Raiden said,

"What?" I darkly laughed, "You thought I would just be ok with you two taking off-!?"

"Alright." Carver stood, "Let's go."

"Go?" I blinked; Carver grabbed my arm.

"Naruto?" Hinata's sweet voice pulled my attention.

"Uh..." Raiden spun around. "...Hinata, sweety stay here ok?"

"Don't tell her what to do!" I snapped.

"She is drunk." Carver stated, "You really want her to try and follow us in a dark forest?"

"No..." I muttered.

"We will be right back." Raiden waved towards TenTen and Neji.

"Fine with me." TenTen smiled, "More beer for us!"

Carver and Raiden dragged me through the forest until the illuminating light from the fire was out of sight. I ripped my arm away feeling tears behind my eyes, they were going to leave too...

"What is going on?!" I snapped, "Why did we have to leave-"

"Because I am pretty sure you don't want this getting around the village." Carver stated.

"What getting around the-"

"Your drinking Naruto." Carver cut me off.

"I-I don't know-"

"We can smell it on you." Raiden countered, "All the time."

"I-I don't know what your talking-"

"Cut the bullshit." Carver's voice was stern, I felt cornered. "We are not stupid, we of all people you should know you can't bullshit."

"Naruto, you drink all the time. You were even drunk on border control."

"You're leaving the team because-"

"It's not just you, we know about Sasuke too. You guys did a great job of hiding it from everyone around you, even your own team."

"But-" Raiden went to add, "-you guys were only a small fraction of our decision to leave-"

"No, it wasn't." Carver turned to Raiden, "We can't go out on missions because of them, I can't trust them to not drink on the job. I can't trust you to be sober and to have my back if we are out on a mission."

"I-I can stop-"

"No, you can't." Carver said, "Not unless you want to, and you don't."

"I-"

"Naruto, we spent a lot of time inside Brasle. We know what addiction is." Carver crossed his arms over his chest.

"Naruto, Carver and I are going to train students." Raiden said, "That's why we are leaving the team."

"But-But-" I stuttered.

"Consider this your only warning." Carver said, "Stop the drinking, at least when you're on patrol. If not, then we will have to step in-"

"And do what?" I accused; anger glowed inside my eyes.

"I won't allow the village Sakura died for to be invaded simply because you were too drunk to do your job." Carver's voice was sharp cutting me at every turn.

"What would your parents think if they found out about this?" Raiden questioned. "Does Hinata even know?"

"No." Carver answered for me, "She is the farthest person from the truth, isn't she?"

"I..." I sighed words falling flat all around me, along with my world. Who was I now? What had I become?

"Because you know how disappointed she would be in you if she was to find out."

"What would Sakura think?" Raiden asked, "I mean she died protecting you and Tsunade. Your drinking away the life she basically gave you...like...that's-"

"Shut up!" I yelled feeling the sting her name brought.

"Don't take your rage out on us." Carver snapped, "I understand your in pain, we all are. But to simply try and drink the guilt away won't change the fact Sakura is gone and it damn sure won't change the fact she died saving your ass."

"I thought you would be happy for us." Raiden muttered, "That's why we told you tonight..."

"Why would I be happy about you abondinging our team!?" I shouted,

"We are not abandoning the team." Carver sounded scary calm right now, "You and Sasuke abandoned us the second you decided to pick up the bottle."

"I'm not listening to this." I stated turning on my heel moving back to the campfire.

"Are you just going to ignore us and hope that this goes away!?" Carver called after me, "How is that working out for you now?"

"Shut up." I growled turning to look at him, "You don't know anything about me!"

"Clearly your right, because I never thought in a million years you out of all people would try to numb away pain instead of dealing with it." Carver snapped, "Your not as strong as I thought you were." I shook his head, trying to get Carver's words out of my head as we stumbled back into the clearing where the small campfire was.

"Hinata?!" I called looking around the empty space. My heart turned as I felt panicked, Hinata lying dead on the sidewalk and her still eyes flashed through my mind as I began to feel myself tremble with worry.

"Calm down." Carver said from behind me, "Neji texted me."

"And?!"

"He said TenTen is a light weight, he took her home and dropped off Hinata at your place."

"Wow really?" Raiden said, "Neji is a good guy."

"Yeah." I breathed feeling myself relax knowing Hinata was safe inside our home.

"Naruto..." Raiden sighed after a quiet moment, "...I don't want to leave us like this."

"I don't either." I muttered still feeling mad at them.

"Man-" Carver groaned, "-look we did the training shinobi under Sakura's name thing and we did the constant missions and we were cool with it, we really were but now, it's time for our next chapter."

"Yeah." Raiden agreed, "We have never been sensei before." He smiled. "We get assigned our teams tomorrow and I would really like you to be here."

"I wouldn't miss it for the world." I smiled at him, feeling sad my team was falling apart but they looked to be happier with this next phase in their life's and I didn't want to miss out on that.

"Thanks man-" Carver patted my back. "-and you will...?"

"Cut back my drinking." I nodded, "I'm going to do my best."

"You got this." Raiden said, "If you need help just let us know, ok?"

"Ok." I nodded, "I am gonna head home and make sure Hinata is ok."

"Good." Raiden laughed, "She got drunk fast!"

"Yeah." I chuckled, "She does."

"We'll see you tomorrow?" Raiden questioned; I nodded my head.

"You can count on it." I smiled as I walked my way through the village, towards my apartment building. I rode up the elevator and reached my floor, walking down my hallway I passed my apartment door and knocked on Sasuke's. He opened it with a yawn on his lips and a bottle in his hand, he tilted his head seeing me.

"Do you have room for one more?" I asked not looking him in eye feeling a new layer of guilt coat my heart. Sasuke moved out of the way to allow me inside his place.

\----

"Ugh." I groaned sitting up, holding my head as my bedroom spun causing my stomach to turn inside my gut.

"Naruto?" I looked over seeing Hinata. "How are you feeling?" She walked into the bedroom, I lightly smiled at her. I held out my arms, she gladly walked into them. I pulled her to lay beside me.

"I'm better now." I kissed her forehead. "How are you feeling?"

"I have a headache." Hinata admitted.

"Well..." I breathed with a yawn, "...how about we get dressed and go get some greasy food? Granny told me that was the best cure for a hangover."

"Ok!" Hinata liked the idea, "Oh, why is Sasuke asleep on the couch?"

"He-?" I blinked thinking through the night, remembering how drunk we had gotten. We ran out of alcohol inside Sasuke's apartment, so we migrated over here to raid the fridge. "-He is a light weight." I faked a laugh as I sat up, Hinata shook her head giggling.

Hinata and I got changed into clean clothing, my eyes trailed over her exposed body as she slipped on a fresh shirt. I cleared my throat quickly pulling on the jacket Sakura had handmade and given to me as a Christmas gift.

"Why did Carver and Raiden pull you away from us last night?" Hinata asked as we left our bedroom.

"Oh uh...they were just telling me about them leaving Team Seven."

"W-What?!" Hinata breathed, her eyes widened in surprise.

"Yup." Sasuke said, I looked at Sasuke lying on the couch watching the television. Why was he still here? "They are leaving the team to become sensei."

"Wow..." Hinata breathed wrapping her head around this new concept. "What are you going to do with your team?"

"I don't know." I shrugged, "We could try to talk to Kakashi about rejoining."

"If you can find him." Sasuke added, I nodded in agreement.

"I guess that is kind of cool for them though."

"What is?" I asked Hinata.

"Well...Carver and Raiden were apart of Sakura's army for a long time, right?"

"Yeah?"

"They trained people but could never get close to them like you are with Kakashi. Maybe they want what you have with him?" Hinata explained, I thought about this concept for a second, I never thought about that.

"Hm." I hummed at the idea of Carver and Raiden wanting to bond with students, it sounded strange inside my thoughts but why did it feel so farfetch'd? "I said we would go and watch them get assigned their first team."

"Really?" Hinata smiled, "I thought you would be upset?"

"I am." I muttered.

"I am proud of you." Hinata grinned making my heart skip.

"Yeah?"

"Yes, you're going to support your friends even though it upsets you to see them move on to their next journey."

"Yeah well..." I blushed, "...they are like family now so-" I could feel Sasuke roll his eyes, but I didn't care, I liked when Hinata praised me.

"Sasuke-" Hinata turned to him, "-we are going to get something to eat, would you like to come?"

"Eh...sure." Sasuke sat up grabbing his shoes.

"Do you have something in mind?" I questioned Hinata who smiled up at me.

"I don't mind."

"Alright!" I jumped, "Ichiraku ramen it is then!"

"Oh yay..." Sasuke said following us out of my apartment. "...so original."

"Your very bitter today." I commented as we made our way out of the apartment.

"I'm hungover, what do you expect?" He countered, "Flowers?"

"It would be a nice change from you." I smiled at his glare; my grin quickly evaporated hearing a loud explosion echoing through the sleepy morning.

"What the-"

"Sirens aren't going off." Sasuke said looking around, "Could be the genin training."

"Right." I nodded, looking down at Hinata who I had grabbed and pulled into me, keeping her safe. "Let's go get something to eat." I smiled down at her. I glanced behind me as my stomach slowly began to unravel the tension inside it.

"Terrible way to wake up." Sasuke muttered as he rubbed his face. I was just about to agree with him until another loud explosion echoed through the air.

"Something about that sounded too good to be just a trainee." Hinata breathed out, as she finished her sentence multiple tunnels of dark smoke rose over buildings, blaring sirens began to sing to the morning sun.

"What the-?" Sasuke was scanning around us.

"Let's go!" I yelled, spinning on my heel running towards the smoke with Hinata by my side.

"You know normal people run away from danger right?" Choji called from behind me making me laugh, Kiba and Shino flaked to my right where Hinata was.

"If we ran away from the fire then who would be left to defend the village?" Shikamaru countered jumping to my left with his team. I smiled feeling my friends all collect around as we ran towards the smoke.

"Yeah!" Lee agreed,

"We can't let the other shinobi have all the fun!" Kiba laughed, "Kohana eleven is about to join the party!"


	3. Chapter 3

Naruto accompanied by his friends ran through the leaf village. They stumbled upon damage done to their home, friends and neighbors laid on the ground both injured and deceased. Naruto crimped down on his jaw; hot fresh anger leaked into his veins the more he moved through the village the more of an urge he felt to smash his fist into the person responsible.

"Of course." Naruto muttered annoyance fluttered itself inside his skull once he saw the large echoes of destruction with mixed voices was originating from the leaf villages arena.

The leaf shinobi leaped over the arena's dusty brick wall; their feet graze the roof as they jumped down onto the ground floor of the arena. Naruto's feet hit the dried dirt, instantly looking around assessing the issue.

"Granny!" Naruto called seeing her blond hair, he quickly reached her side feeling a strong sense of déjà vu. The arena was once again divided into two halves, one side was the leaf shinobi and the other were the reapers. "Kakashi." Naruto smiled seeing the masked man was beside the leaf village hokage.

"Naruto." Kakashi nodded, it had been weeks since Naruto had spoken to Kakashi, tears almost pressed themselves against Naruto's large crystal blue eyes seeing his sensei.

"Not this guy!" Raiden cursed coming up beside Naruto with Carver on his right. Naruto breathed seeing his former teammates, he felt stronger with his friends by his side. They gave him the strength to face forward and stare at the new threat glaring at his village.

"When is this guy going to get a hobby?" Carver wondered glaring at the new leader of the reapers. Sakura Haruno killed Malachite, giving his brother Jadeite the rains to the assassins group Sakura had spent years trying to bring down. Naruto couldn't stop the painful thought from entering his mind during a time like this, but he really wished Sakura was here right now.

"Leaf Village." Jadeite sneered standing in front of his dozens of masked followers, Naruto's eyes scanned over the black wooden box the was behind Jadeite but his mind didn't give it much thought as Tsunade moved toward, causing Naruto to tense.

"What are you doing here!?" Tsunade stepped forward, glaring at the man who stood on the stage from last night, the same stage Tsunade used to praise Sakura's life.

"I made a promise-" Jadeite grinned, "-to bring this village to its knees."

"That's never going to happen!" Naruto spat out; his head still rang from the heavy drinking from the previous night.

"I made a vow to my fallen brother, to bring down the village he despised most."

"Why?" Tsunade questioned, she couldn't understand what the leaf village had done to be a target of the reapers.

"It's simple." Jadeite called,

"Then why don't you get on with it and tell us!" Guy called,

"Commander Sakura Haruno." As Jadeite spoke her name, Naruto's heart stung at the power that still lingered inside her title.

"What does she-" Tsunade went to speak but Jadeite cut her off.

"This was her favorite village." Jadeite explained, "So naturally it must come down."

"We will never let you!" Tsunade spat earning cheers from her shinobi standing behind her.

"It took your elder brother everything the Reaper's had in its arsenal to graze this village." Carver smiled, "How do expect to even scratch us now?" Naruto turned feeling a hand on his shoulder, Minato stood behind his son staring at Jadeite.

"That-" A sly smile smeared its way over Jadeite's thin lips. "-is also very simple."

"Oh yeah?" Carver rolled his eyes. "How so? You got a hulk hiding inside your pocket we don't know about?" Carver's joke earned a couple snickers and laughs.

"Something like that." Jadeite smiled, "It took some time to find it, and even longer to tame it."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Tsunade shook her head not caring, she just wanted these people out of her village! Jadeite turned his head, giving two quick nods before three masked reapers moved and began to pull the face of the wooden box off.

"What the hell is in that?" Iruka breathed.

"Where is mom?" Naruto turned to Minato.

"She helped get the citizens to the tunnels. She is there as a guard."

"Good." Naruto breathed; his mother was modularly safe, he just wished Hinata was with her.

"I can't think of a sweeter ending to this village-" Jadeite pulled Naruto and Minato's attention back to him. The front of the box was missing, it was pitch black inside despite it being morning with a bright sun to offer much light to see.

Iruka's mouth dropped open as angry flames spilled from the box, engulfing the reapers who had opened it. They cried in pain as they desperately stop, dropped and rolled on the ground floor of the arena.

Naruto's heart was beating rapidly as he pulled a kunai from his pouched, what kind of creature was going to crawl out of that thing?!

Tsunade growled, recalling the white and black creatures that stormed through the leaf village. Sakura, Carver and Raiden defended them from those things, what has Jadeite created this time!?

Silence filled the arena as everyone watched movement be known inside the box, Naruto swallowed the lump in his throat. Tsunade tilted her head seeing two black shoes slowly walking into the light.

"What-?" Carver felt just as confused, he turned to Raiden not understanding. They were expecting a blood hungry beast to burnt from the box, jumping into the crowd ready to devour everyone.

"No..." Tsunade breathed, her eyes widened as her jaw dropped.

"W-What?" Naruto stepped forward, about to run into the crowd of reapers but Minato stopped him by holding his arm.

Carver and Raiden's stomach tightly twisted as their throat dried up.

"She-" Kakashi moved a step forward as her long pink hair reflected the sun light.

"S-Sakura!?" Hinata gasped seeing Sakura Haruno emerge from the box, she stood inside her lit flames as the nearby reapers quickly moved to get away from her.

"What-?" Carver shook his head staring at Sakura, he blinked a few times trying to wake up from this nightmare.

"You said she died!" Raiden turned to Tsunade who remained stunned. Jadeite enjoyed the shocked expressions on the leaf shinobi's faces.

"She did." Tsunade breathed, she herself was the one who searched for a pulse on Sakura but found none!

"You said her body was destroyed." Minato spoke behind Tsunade still trying to restrain his son who wanted nothing more than to run up to Sakura and hug her.

"Look-!" Guy called out pointing towards Sakura, "-her eyes!" Kakashi and Tsunade flipped back around.

Sakura's famous Christmas wreath eyes glowed but they weren't how the leaf shinobi remembered them. Sakura's eyes weren't their lovely diamonds that reflected the purity of the rainbow. As she stood by Jadeite's side her eyes glowed shades of dirty red.

"She died with the poison in her system." Carver realized. "That's why Jadeite came back, not to try and bring us down but for her body!"

"You catch on quickly." Jadeite commented, turning to gaze at Sakura as he felt the orb inside his jacket. The glass orb was what controlled Sakura by linking it to Jadeite giving him the power to use Sakura Haruno as a human puppet.

"Kakashi-" Tsunade gasped out, tears in her eyes. Her hand reached out touching Kakashi's arm stabilizing herself on her feet.

"I know." Kakashi breathed never removing his exposed eye from her, his heart was rabid inside his chest.

"We have to free her!" Hinata turned to Naruto, her hand grasping the necklace around her neck, with ready to go tears in her eyes.

"I can't think of a sweeter ending to this village-" Jadeite repeated his former statement. "-than to have the very person who died to save it, be the one responsible for its destruction!"

"Sakura would never hurt anyone!" Naruto yelled out with a determined wave of his hand.

"Naruto." Carver stated, "That isn't Sakura." Naruto turned with a distilled expression fallen on his face.

"Of course, it is!" Naruto shouted,

"Not right now it isn't." Raiden agreed, "That is Jadeite's weapon."

"Sakura is not a weapon!"

"She was trained to be an unstoppable a war machine." Carver felt the tempting urge to slap the stupid out of Naruto. "She is a weapon when she is underneath some whack jobs control!"

"Then we need to free her!" Naruto said turning back to look at Sakura, her body was stiff like a board. Her face was expressionless and her red glowing eyes sent unstilted shivers through Naruto and the leaf shinobi.

"How do you suppose we do that?" Kiba questioned taking a step away as he gazed at Sakura's face, he heard stories of the Reaper and he had no desire to meet the monster that lived into those tall tales.

"There has to be an orb, like with Kakashi and Hinata." Tsunade realized, "We find it, destroy that should free Sakura."

"If we do that-" Carver studied Sakura, "-what will wake up?"

"What do you mean?" Naruto shook his head, "Sakura-"

"Kakashi and everyone else woke up with large pieces missing from their memory, if we free Sakura we don't know what will wake up. Naruto, you got a peek of what Sakura was like before-"

"She is our friend." Naruto said, "I don't give a damn what wakes, we will deal with that when we get to that bridge but for right now, that is Sakura and she would do everything in her power to free us from being a mindless puppet!"

"He's got a point." Raiden directed to Carver.

"I hate when he does." Carver muttered.

"Everyone does." Raiden agreed.

"I feel like I am being verbally assaulted." Naruto said looking at his friends.

"Never!" Raiden smiled with a fast wave of his hand.

"Hey!" Tsunade broke the Carver, Raiden and Naruto's conversation making them turn back to the fact their village was under attack. Tsunade waved her hand signaling Jadeite who was closing the space he had between himself and Sakura. "Don't-"

Jadeite breathed scanning Sakura's blank face with his hungry eyes, Jadeite carved into his desires lifting his hand to touch her face. Kakashi's stomach pulpit into his lower abdomen at the light thought of Jadeite being so openly able to touch her.

Naruto's lips parted, his mind raced to think of something to say to get Jadeite away from Sakura but before anyone could move, Jadeite's hand was electrocuted. Jadeite flinched towards the pain quickly taking a step back.

"Why can't he touch her?" Raiden whispered to Carver.

"I have no fucking idea." Carver answered, "Malachite never tried to touch Hinata or anyone that returned so I don't know if this is normal."

"He tried to touch her." Neji entered the conversation, "Clearly he wouldn't if he knew the outcome would be getting electrocuted."

"Very good point." Carver said,

"So why can't he touch her?" Raiden wondered what everyone was thinking.

"Guess we will have to just free her and ask her for ourselves." Naruto smirked.

"Oh yeah-" Raiden mocked, "-you make it sound so easy!"

"I have been waiting for this day for two long years-" Jadeite said, but never removed his eyes from Sakura's blank face. "-after three towns, two villages and a city I knew she was ready."

"What the hell-?" Shikamaru wondered what Jadeite was talking about.

"Reaper!" Jadeite smiled as he spoke, her eyes drifted off to Jadeite's direction signaling she was truly under his possession. Naruto's breath got caught inside his throat seeing her eyes move, it made her standing there feel more real. After two painful years, there she stood before him, it hadn't occurred to Naruto just yet that she stood on the opposite side. "Bring the village you loved so dearly to its knees!"

"What!?" Tsunade breathed as if she hadn't been expecting Jadeite to use Sakura at all, Tsunade didn't get a moment to register what had happened before Sakura vanished from sight.

"Fuck!" Carver cursed searching for pink hair inside the arena. 

\----

Carver huffed air in and out of his lungs, feeling sweat coat his body. Raiden stood beside him as they scanned the crowd of people, they felt like tiny fish alone inside a pond with a hungry shark.

Sakura was faster than Carver recalled, she was swifter than Raiden remembered and no one could land a hit on her, they had to be careful to not hurt her in ways Tsunade couldn't heal. The only thing the leaf shinobi could do was play defense with their hands tied.

Movement on Carver's right side caused him to snap his attention to the ground at the dead corpse nearby.

"Uh..." Raiden called out. "...we got a problem." Carver didn't remove his eyes from the dead reaper.

"Yeah, I got one too."

"No, I uh, I think mine is worse."

"I can promise you it's not." Carver turned his head, his heart shook seeing the dead corpses the littered the ground near Raiden were beginning to get up and move. "Or not." Carver sighed turning back to look at his right. The corpse he had been watching was also beginning to spark back to life.

"What-"

"Alright-!" Carver called seeing Sakura was standing beside Jadeite, watching the leaf shinobi. "-truth time!" Carver said with a quick clap of his hands.

"W-What!?" Tsunade turned,

"What the hell do you mean 'truth time' Carver!?" Naruto shouted yards away feeling a sickly feeling spread throughout his body as he watched a shinobi, he knew he had killed start to pull itself to its feet.

"What is going on?" Kakashi questioned Carver and Raiden knowing they had the answers.

"The real reason Sakura got her name." Raiden answered.

"The-What-Why do I care about that right now!?" Tsunade snapped as her blood boiled.

"Because she was dubbed 'The Reaper' not because she personally went after the Reapers."

"What?" Kiba breathed, "Then why the hell is she called that!?"

"Because of this-" Carver pointed to the dead bodies as they rose to their feet, their eyes glowed with a ghostly green.

"Sakura is the cause of this!?" Guy gasped.

"This is why the Waterfall Village was so strong, this is why they could never be brought down." Raiden said,

"If one soldier was killed in battle, it got back up-" Carver added. "-and kept on going."

"This is one of her forbidden seals?" Iruka wondered,

"Yeah." Carver breathed.

"Damn." Asuma breathed, "How do we kill them for good?"

"As far as I know, headshot." Raiden said. "Sakura can't use the bodies anymore after the head had been destroyed."

"Please tell me that isn't why she loves zombie shows so much." Naruto muttered.

"On the bright side-" Carver sighed,

"How can there be a bright side to this!?"

"-this seal takes up almost all of her chakra, she won't be able to keep this seal active for long." Carver finished.

"What happens when it breaks?" Tsunade breathed,

"Sakura always passed out; she would be out for two maybe even three days." Raiden said.

"Well that's good." Kakashi stepped in, "We just need to hold out long enough for her to burn through her chakra."

"Yeah-" Carver nodded. "-I have a plan."

"You have a plan?" Raiden gasped.

"Don't sound so shocked, I am a very smart man!" Carver snapped, "The shinobi that are still standing need to keep take those things down. Raiden, Tsunade, Naruto and I go after Jadeite and-"

"What about Sakura, there is no way she will let-"

"-and Kakashi will keep Sakura at bay." Carver finished.

"That is your plan?" Kurenai scoffed.

"K-Kakashi can't-" Guy sputtered, he feared for his favorite rival's safety.

"He can." Carver stated, "He is probably the only one who is a match for Sakura."

"I wouldn't say the only one." Kurenai rolled her eyes.

"I would." Carver stated. "Kakashi are you-"

"Yeah." Kakashi nodded turning to look at Sakura's eyes, red didn't look good on her.

"I don't know if you can remember or not-" Carver said to Kakashi, "-but your sharingan won't work against her, her eyes act kind of like a mirror."

"It may give you like a split second, if that." Raiden added.

"But a split second is all you might need to survive against her." Carver commented.

Naruto, Carver and Raiden went after Jadeite at the same time Kakashi went for Sakura. The leaf shinobi turned to the remaining masked reapers and the real-life walking dead, Choji huffed; today was proving to be a very long day.

"Let's go!" Guy yelled charging into the mixed crowd of the living and the dead.

"Yes!" Lee dashed in after his sensei.

Kakashi ducked a punch from Sakura, he grabbed her arm pulling him closer.

"Sakura." He breathed; a sharp pain echoed through his head, but he ignored it. "Can you hear me?"

Sakura's lips parted, Kakashi's eyes widened as he paused desperately waiting to hear her sweet voice, but no words escaped her instead she whipped her free arm holding a silver kunai forward. Kakashi jumped back, her blade was able to graze his jacket.

"Sakura it's ok-" Kakashi went on speaking, trying to reach through to her as he kept dodging her attacks keeping her attention placed solely on him. The two clashed kunai's, the ringing of metal against metal rang inside Kakashi's ears,"-I'm right here, it's going to all be ok."

"What-?" Jadeite gasped jumping back, Carver, Raiden and Tsunade were quickly cornering him."-Reaper!" Jadeite called through a growl.

Kakashi heard Jadeite call out for Sakura, he pushed away her left arm and swung his own arm ready to clash blades, ready to stop her from punching her kunai into his throat.

To Kakashi's surprise, Sakura froze at the call of her name Kakashi's eyes went wide as he watched his kunai effortlessly slice through her skin.

"S-Sakura!" Kakashi gasped seeing the blood soak her shirt, she didn't respond to his shocked concern. Sakura turned on her heel in Jadeite's direction. "No!" Kakashi tried to grab her but she was already too far from his reach.

Sakura weaved her way through the crowd, reaching Jadeite Naruto's eyes widened seeing her. Sakura pulled her elbow upward, slamming it into Carver's face. He stumbled backwards; his eyes instantly watered. Sakura didn't miss a beat, she spun on her left foot kicking Raiden away, taking his sword from his hand as he flew backwards.

Naruto didn't have time to question where Kakashi was or if he was even alive. Naruto positioned himself to stand in front of Tsunade, he quickly turned wrapping his arms around her making himself into a human shield. Naruto's eyes watered as he braced himself, his ears captured a light gasp from behind him.

"Wh-What?" Jadeite's voice wheezed, "I-I don't un-understand..." Naruto and Tsunade glanced at each other before slowly turning around. Tsunade gulped, her amber eyes round with a mixture of confusion and shock.

"Sakura?" Naruto whispered; his heart pounding so fast. Sakura stood in front of him, Raiden's sword that she stole was pressed in middle of Jadeite's chest, blood leaked from the wound soaking his shirt.

"You really thought-" Naruto's jaw dropped hearing her voice, "-your little jutsu would hold me?"

"Sakura!?" Tsunade breathed moving closer, Sakura's eyes still glowed a blood red. "What-"

"We-We killed you." Jadeite gasped out; blood dripped down his chin. "You-"

"I decide when I'm done." Sakura's voice snapped, Tsunade shook her head. She didn't know what had happened but the hokage reached out towards Jadeite, Sakura's hand flung out tightly gripping Tsunade's wrist.

"You're not strong enough to keep resisting." Jadeite laughed, causing himself to cough on the blood filling his lungs.

"She doesn't need to be." Tsunade responded after a moment of watching Sakura who remained frozen. Tsunade searched Jadeite's jacket with her free hand quickly searching out the orb she knew would free Sakura.

Kakashi ran past Naruto, who remained still his brain unable to register what was happening. Kakashi looked at Sakura's hand that tightly gripped Tsunade's wrist. One wrong move and the mask shinobi knew Sakura would shatter Tsunade's arm.

He lightly wrapped his hand around Sakura's small wrist. Carver jogged over, his blood dripping down his broken nose but he quickly pulled a kunai and slammed it on the side Jadeite's head. Carver wasn't taking any chances at this twisted fucker getting away again. Tsunade glanced at Kakashi, a new issue arose between the small group of gathered shinobi.

As Tsunade crushed the glowing orb inside her hand, everyone turned to Sakura. The red slowly faded from her eyes, leaving the familiar Christmas wreath eyes the leaf shinobi grew up love. Kakashi breathed, Sakura's grip on Tsunade loosened and her emerald green eyes was revealed.

Kakashi stared into them, searching for the Sakura he knew but before he could find anything her eyes closed and she went limp. Kakashi grapped her, bringing her into his frame. Kakashi glanced over at Carver and Tsunade who looked deathly terrified.

Everyone looked down at Sakura who was tucked inside Kakashi's warm embrace. The leaf shinobi were still trying to wrap their minds around the concept that Sakura Haruno was alive, and she was within an arm's reach.

But they didn't have time to celebrate their friends return they all were too busy staring at her, wondering what was going to wake up, Sakura or the Reaper?

"Well we are at that bridge." Raiden muttered looking up, "What do we do now?"


	4. Chapter 4

"This is wrong." Naruto repeated for the fourth time, crossing his arms over his chest he would have nothing to do with Carver and Kakashi who were handcuffing both of Sakura's wrists to the rails of her hospital bed.

Tsunade sighed, she one hundred percent agreed with Naruto, but she still placed a metal collar around Sakura's neck, it blocked her from having access to her chakra should she wake up and not be the Sakura they knew and loved so dearly.

"This is for her safety as much as it is for ours." Carver repeated his same answer again.

"This doesn't feel like we are doing this for her." Naruto hated seeing Sakura handcuffed like she was some low life criminal.

"I know." Tsunade sighed, "But we have no idea what she will remember when she wakes from this."

"Itachi remembered everything!" Naruto countered pointing to the shinobi who stood against the window acting as a pretty wallflower. "Right down to the second he died!"

"We don't know why." Tsunade groaned, feeling a Naruto headache coming along.

"Do you think she has been with the Reaper's this entire time?" Hinata asked the million-dollar question. Raiden looked up from his phone,

"Didn't Jadeite say something...?" Raiden trailed off,

"Huh?" Tsunade replied taking a seat next to Sakura's hospital bed.

"...yeah..." Raiden nodded, "...when Jadeite...when he brought Sakura out, he said it took him a while to find her?"

"He did say that." Carver commented, "I don't understand what that could mean, he had to have taken her body since it wasn't destroyed in the explosion like we had thought."

"She is Kaguya's seal." Carver muttered. "Maybe that's-"

"Excuse me?" Itachi stepped of the wall. "She is what?"

"Oh yeah..." Naruto yawned, "...no one really knew about that."

"Yeah, you can't tell anyone." Raiden added.

"Sakura is Kaguya's seal?" Itachi ignored Naruto and Raiden staring at Carver.

"Yeah." He answered, "It was one hell of a shock to us too."

"But how, and when or why-?"

"You're asking all the wrong questions." Carver said.

"What would the right ones be?" Naruto wondered.

"Where the hell was she, before Jadeite found her?"

"I..." Naruto's mind tried to think of an answer but failed.

"We have no way of knowing until she wakes up." Tsunade responded.

"If she remembers." Raiden muttered.

"I am hoping she doesn't." Carver sighed,

"What?" Naruto looked over to him, "Why?"

"You heard Jadeite-" Carver went on explaining. "-three towns, two villages and a city. He even said it took a while to tame Sakura-"

"You think she destroyed all those places?" Tsunade wondered.

"I really hope not but nothing else would make sense."

"Man-" Naruto realized Carver was right, "-I really hope she doesn't remember."

"She broke through Jadeite's control over her on her own-" Itachi shook his head. "-and he couldn't touch her, so she had to have been somewhat conscious through it all."

"That's true too." Carver nodded, "Damn." Carver rubbed his tired face; he had a strong feeling she was going to remember it all, and it was going to scar.

"Now that everything has calmed down." Tsunade leaned back against the recliner, "Carver-"

"Ah fuck." Carver groaned at Tsunade's principle tone, he knew was in trouble. "Yeah?"

"About Sakura's name..."

"Her name?" Itachi muttered, his brows furrowed together not understanding why this was being brought up.

"What about it?"

"Do you care to go into more detail about it?" Tsunade questioned,

"Um, no?" Carver pulled his lips together as Tsunade glared into his face. "Fine." Carver sighed throwing his head back. "Back when we were on the Nine, Sakura was feared by almost everyone and the reason being was the nickname she inherited-"

"The Reaper?" Naruto said,

"Yeah." Raiden nodded getting a cup of green Jello in the corner of the room.

"Why-"

"Sakura didn't get her nickname because of the Reapers, they had nothing to do with it." Carver said, "The Nine just spread that rumor around and we tacked on 'of Reapers' to her name to make her seem less redoubtable than what she was."

"So, her name came from-"

"Her rising dead soldiers on a battlefield-" Carver answered, "-that is how she got her original name."

"You never wondered why people only call her 'Reaper'?" Raiden thought out loud. "You never wondered why only Malachite and his little band of masked misfits were the only people to ever call her Reaper of Reapers?"

"Um..." Tsunade glanced from Kakashi towards Itachi, "...it was a shortened?"

"No." Carver laughed with Raiden.

"What is so funny?!" Tsunade snapped, feeling an urge to pick up the nearest object and propel it into Carver's skull!

"No matter how much damage control the Nine did-" Carver shook his head, "-Sakura was already a monster in the eyes of the other villages, there was actually very little we could do."

"Malachite knew the Nine was responsible for us using him and his organization to try and normalize Sakura, I don't know why he never called us out on it though..."

"Why didn't you tell us?" Naruto asked,

"Tell you what?" Raiden blinked,

"About the real reason she got her name!" Naruto shouted getting worked up.

"Why would we?" Carver questioned,

"Because-Because-" Naruto stuttered turning towards Tsunade for help.

"You love her right?" Raiden grinned,

"What?"

"Sakura-" Raiden clarified; "-you all love her as she is?"

"Well...yeah." Naruto muttered looking around as Tsunade, Kakashi and Itachi nodded in response.

"So, what does it matter we didn't tell you all how she got her name?" Carver finished,

"Because we have a right to know about her past-!?" Naruto snappily replied,

"No, you don't." Carver chuckled,

"How don't we!?" Naruto glared feeling defensive.

"You weren't there for those years." Raiden leaned on his arm, feeling sad he finished his jello cup and didn't have anymore to eat. "You have no claim on Sakura for her to pour out her soul to you about years she was gone from this village."

"We warned you-" Carver stepped in, "-that there was a lot you don't know about her, I told you she has a habit of shielding-"

"We don't need to be sheltered!" Naruto stood. "We can handle ourselves!"

"Yeah-" Carver scoffed, "-because you handled seeing Sakura while her memory was gone so fantastically."

"She-She was-"

"That was her-" Raiden said, "-a piece of her anyway." Raiden shrugged.

"But she threatened-"

"Yeah-" Carver nodded, Tsunade and Kakashi had no clue what what this conversation was or where it was headed. "-those weren't threats, they were promises. Sakura would have done everything she told you with a smile on her face."

"But-"

"Kaguya fucked her up in ways you'll just never understand." Raiden sighed turning to watch Sakura sleep.

"We can fix-"

"I thought you learnt this lesson already?" Carver turned to Naruto, "You can't fix something that isn't broken."

Naruto's heart dropped hearing Sakura's twisted laugh echo around inside his head: 'You can't fix something that isn't broken, I like what I am.'

"S-So-" Tsunade changed the subject feeling the fight gearing up in the air conditioned room, "Are those people still the people they once were?" Tsunade wondered about the people Sakura brought back from the dead to fight.

"We don't know." Carver answered honestly, "When we grew the balls to ask Sakura about this seal, all she said was when she pulled the souls back into the bodies to fight, they all felt pure agony, and pulling the soul back into its corpse she said it felt like she was mutilating the soul itself."

"Oh." Tsunade pulled her lips together not expecting to hear such a dark twisted answer.

"Like we said-" Raiden yawned, "-there's a lot you don't know, and a lot you're not going to want to know."

\----

One week dragged itself through the warm leaf village. Team seven hated hospitals, so living inside one while Sakura remained inside her coma felt like agonizing torture!

Kakashi leaned forward in the forest green recliner, his exposed eye examined Tsunade as she carefully changed the bandages on Sakura's side, underneath the white gauze laid a wound she received from Kakashi. His heart dipped at the sight of the fresh cut across her skin.

"Even I can't eat this." Naruto muttered poking at the oatmeal inside a takeout container. Naruto, Sasuke, Tsunade, Raiden and Kakashi all sat around inside Sakura's private hospital room in a boredom filled bubble.

"It was all the hospital cafeteria had." Sasuke said, "So eat if you want a lunch."

"I swear the food gets worse here by the day." Naruto muttered setting the container down with a sigh. "No offence Granny."

"None taken." Tsunade agreed the food at the hospital was terrible. Naruto looked over his shoulder, quickly doing a double take he saw Raiden was staring at two small containers of milk sitting on small table.

"Are you-" Naruto called, "-are you doing ok over there?" Had Raiden finally cracked from living inside a hospital for an entire week?

"Huh?" Raiden looked over to Naruto, "Yeah?"

"What are you doing then?" Sasuke questioned.

"I was just wondering-" Raiden turned back to the containers in front of him, "-if these two containers of milk are from the same cow or from two different cows."

"...Why...?" Sasuke dared to questioned.

"Are you sneaking Sakura's pain medication?" Tsunade wondered.

"No?" Raiden blinked looking five shinobi who were staring questionably at him. "Why?"

"Just...making sure." Tsunade smiled, the door to the room opened revealing Carver holding a round box of fried chicken, a plastic bag hung on his arm full of flavorful side dishes.

"What is that!?" Raiden perked up smelling the fried beauties. Carver looked at the large container in his hand and then back to his teammate.

"It's a box of pizza." Carver closed the door behind him.

"Ha-Ha." Raiden scoffed, "Are you sharing?"

"Yes." Carver rolled his eyes as Raiden bounced over taking the food. "Still nothing?" Carver sighed seeing Sakura was unmoving, still in the same place she was when Carver left.

"Nope." Tsunade sighed, pulling herself to her feet.

"Are you going to the bathroom again?!" Naruto wondered out loud, earning a tight glare from Tsunade as she walked past him.

"Mind your business." Tsunade muttered flicking on the bathroom light.

After a quiet lunch that wasn't flavorless mush from the hospital, the leaf shinobi were feeling uplifted as they watched television, Naruto and Carver played a game of cards as they killed time. Kakashi groaned low in his throat, rubbing the side of his head as he felt a painful migraine pressing against his skull.

Raiden sat on the edge of Sakura's bed, he internally felt better being close to her. He ran his fingers through the ends of her long hair as he hummed to keeping to himself as he stared at the colorful TV screen.

Sakura's eyes snapped open, her heart rate on the monitor instantly spiked. Sakura's body tried to fly upward, but her arms were captured by the handcuffs keeping her pinned against the white bed.

"SHIT!" Raiden flew sideways, his stomach flopping around his body as he almost lost control of his bladder he fell to the ground on the side of the bed.

Naruto's eyes widened seeing Carver holding a kunai against Sakura's soft neck, Carver was determined to keep Sakura's destruction contained this time. "What-?" Naruto breathed seeing Kakashi was also on his feet, holding a sharp kunai against Carver's throat.

"Drop it." Kakashi's voice growled, for a slice of a moment Carver's nerves tingled as he felt an urge to bow under Kakashi's darkened demand.

"I can't." Carver snapped back, "If she-"

"Sakura?" Tsunade breathed emerging from the bathroom ignoring Kakashi and Carver as she leaned over staring into the familiar emerald eyes, praying to the heavens for a miracle that this woman laying here hadn't woken as the reaper, but as the woman she desperately wanted to get to know. "Are you-!?"

The mixed voices of excitement layered with panic were all muffled inside Sakura's head. Fire. It was all she could feel it burrowed its path, coursing through Sakura's aching body. The lightbulbs in the ceiling of the hospital room shined with the strength of the sun, stinging Sakura's sensitive eyes forcing her to close them. Her heart was pounding against her chest it was beginning to hurt, her lungs felt like they were muffled with thick smoke.

A soft hand pressed against her forehead, for a moment everything inside Sakura's spinning head came to a halt as that hand ran its fingers through her soft hair. This touch, it felt like Sakura had always known it. Sakura pried her eyes open, they watered against the pain of the light but through it a masked face appeared.

"K-Kashi-" His nickname breathed past her dry lips as a tear fell down her cheek, her eyes snapped closed like angry blinds as a hungry darkness engulfed her conscious.

"Sakura?" Tsunade shouted her name, gently shaking her trying to stir her awake.

"What happened!?" Carver yelled, pressing his hands to his head with wide worried eyes, his stomach turning sour. Kakashi looked up at Tsunade for answers, his one exposed eye reflected how terrified he truly was.

"She is asleep." Tsunade stated.

"Wh-How the fuck!?" Raiden rubbed his sore tailbone.

"She was only awake for like two seconds!" Naruto whined looking at Sakura's sleeping face.

"I will remind you-" Tsunade said, "-when Hinata, Kakashi and the other's returned they slept for days and then could barely move or even use their chakra. Sakura has been under the Reaper's possession twice as long, and they had been using her as a weapon of mass destruction. It is only natural Sakura needs more time to recover."

"But..." Naruto traveled off as he sat down, he wanted to talk to her now...Naruto felt all the questions he had bottled up inside him were shaken and ready to burst!

"I know." Tsunade agreed, "It is hard waiting for her to come to, but we must be patient."

"Easier said than done." Raiden muttered putting his hand on his head.

"She would do it for us." Tsunade reminded.

"Yeah." The impatient men in the room sighed.

\----

"Hey Kakashi-" Tsunade whispered after a still hour echoed around the room, "-why don't you go get a hot shower and-"

"I'm fine Tsunade-" Kakashi waved off,

"Sakura is going to be asleep for at least a couple hours-" Tsunade said making Naruto and Raiden groan, "-don't think I haven't noticed your constant migraines. You haven't slept or really eaten in a week; this is a good time to get a shower maybe a couple hours of rest."

"Yeah." Raiden agreed, "You could even bring back something for dinner, Sakura's first meal back from the dead shouldn't be gray goop from the cafeteria."

"My stomach would greatly appreciate that!" Carver agreed with a grin.

"Very well." Kakashi sighed as he rose to his feet. "I'll be back in one hour."

"We will see you then." Tsunade nodded.

"Will you get onion rings?" Raiden whispered as Kakashi moved to leave the room, the masked shinobi turned giving Raiden an stilled annoyed look. "A simple no would have been fine!" Raiden stuck his tongue out,

"If he was to say no, you would have whined." Carver mentioned.

"I would have not." Raiden said,

"No, you would have." Carver nodded, "And then you would have brought in Naruto to back you up."

"I-I would not have!" Raiden scoffed getting up from his homemade pallet of blankets on the floor. "When she is going to wake up?!" Raiden groaned walking over to Sakura's side. He leaned over the bed getting a closer look at her, putting his hands on his hips. 

Raiden studied her face; she looked the same as the day she died. Sakura looked how he remembered her to be inside his memories and dreams. This was the Sakura Haruno Raiden willingly followed...right?

"What in the hell are you doing?" Raiden's mouth formed a perfect 'O', his eyes matched in lower cases letters as he stepped back.

"S-" Raiden breathed. Tsunade was already on her feet, checking Sakura's vitals as the pinkette looked around the room trying to form a sense as to where she was.

"You-You know who we are?" Naruto questioned stepping to Tsunade's side as Raiden leaned in closer wondering if what he was seeing was true, had Sakura finally woken?

"What-?" Sakura breathed licking her chapped lips, her voice was like music. "-back the fuck up you donut." Sakura said looking Raiden in the eye, Carver breathed feeling relief fill his body hearing Sakura's light insult.

"Sakura!?" Raiden cried bouncing up and down, "You remember who you are and who everyone is!?"

"I was killed-" Sakura's body was stiff, she grunted in pain pulling herself to sit up. "-not hit on the head."

"Your back!" Raiden flew forward ready to hug her tightly and never let her go again but Tsunade stopped him.

"She is still injured-" Hearing those words Sakura automatically groaned to herself.

"Sakura what do you remember?" Carver went on to question.

"I-" Sakura went to answer as she tried to run her hands through her hair, but the handcuffs prevented her.

"Uh..." Raiden trailed off looking at everyone in the room.

"Those were for your protection." Tsunade explained why she was restrained to the bed.

"I need handcuffs to lay in a bed?" Sakura replied dryly, her throat burned as if she had been inside a screaming match with a blow horn.

"Well, no but you could have woken up and uh..."

"Get those off her." Raiden quickly demanded.

"I..." Carver trailed off still not feeling confident in letting Sakura out of the restraints.

"She knows who she is, she knows us." Naruto shook his head. "What is the problem here!?"

"Nothing..." Carver said shook his head, feeling this was too good to be true. Nothing was ever this easy, there had to be a catch twenty-two somewhere they just weren't seeing it yet.

"Where are the keys?!" Naruto called looking around feeling excited, he has wanted those things off her since the moment Tsunade brought them in! Tsunade after a second of studying Sakura pulled them out of the side of her bra, Naruto watched as she handed them to him.

"U-Um-" Naruto pulled his lips together. "-why were they in your..." He trailed off. "...I mean I don't really want to touch..." Naruto trailed off again.

"Will you shut up and take the keys already!?" Tsunade yelled.

"I don't wanna touch your nasty boob sweat ok?!" Naruto snapped back without thinking

"My tasty what!?" Tsunade yelled back as she hit Naruto over the head.

"OW!" He cried out.

"My boobs are perfectly clean and healthy thank you very much!" Tsunade defended.

"Ok!" Naruto waved. "Just stop talking about your boobs."

"And what is so wrong with my boobs?"

"What?" Naruto shook his head, "They are your boobs! I don't want to talk about them ok!"

"Is there something wrong with them, to where you wouldn't want to talk about them!?"

"What?!" Naruto shouted, "They are your boobs!"

"And what is wrong with that!"

"Nothing! I just don't want to talk about your boobs!"

"Guys!" Raiden yelled over the bickering. Tsunade and Naruto looked over at Raiden. "Sakura is chained to a bed-" He reminded. "-can you give me the keys and then you two fight about Tsunade's boobs?"

"We are not fighting about her boobs!" Naruto defended.

"Whatever." Raiden said taking the keys as moved to uncuff Sakura from the bed, Carver went to gently removed the chakra blocking metal collar from around her neck.

"H-How are you feeling?" Tsunade questioned staring wide eyed at Sakura who slowly sat up, rubbing her wrists.

"Sore." Sakura answered looking at the five people inside her hospital room, "How long was I..." Sakura trailed off.

"A week." Tsunade answered, "You were in a coma and-"

"That's...That's not what I meant." Sakura said, as she blinked her eyes, she felt how strained they were.

"O-Oh." Tsunade realized, "U-Um...two years..."

"Two years?" Sakura repeated, tasting the answer in her mouth as she thought about to her last memories. It took a moment, Sakura's emerald eyes widened as her fight against Malachite came rushing back, lying beside Kakashi as she took her last breath quickly spun out inside her memory. Sakura glanced around the room, wondering where the masked man was.

"Yeah, I know this must seem crazy and you may be feeling disoriented but-"

"I'm not." Sakura said to Tsunade.

"Wh-Bu-You just woke up and found out-"

"I am used to warped time fragments." Sakura smirked at Tsunade's baffled face, Hinata breathed seeing Sakura awake and moving around, it was so surreal to be seeing her after all this time.

"How-"

"I spent a lot of time inside the Waterfall Village's training grounds." Sakura answered.

"That is true." Raiden muttered, "Subtract the fact you have been dead this would be a regular Tuesday for you."

"I-" Sakura bit down on her jaw as she moved her sore legs over the side of the bed every muscle felt stiff, her bones felt bruised and a little battered. "-don't think I was-"

"What are you doing!?" Tsunade quickly walked around the bed, stopping Sakura from getting further up. "You can't just get up!"

"Why?" Sakura questioned,

"What do you mean why!?" Tsunade shouted, "You literally just woke up after being inside a coma after returning from the dead! You need to rest!"

"I am fi-"

"Don't you dare say you are fine!" Tsunade snapped.

"Ok." Sakura licked her lips, "I would like to change out of this-" Sakura gestured to the hospital clothes she was wearing, she hated wearing the hospital's clothes. The material felt like sandpaper trying to rub off your flesh.

"Oh!" Hinata perked up, "You can wear some of my clothing, we are about the same size." Hinata blushed looking away from the woman sitting on the hospital bed. Sakura smiled towards her,

"Thanks." Sakura said, feeling her sore throat.

"Fine." Tsunade nodded, "You can change but then your back in that bed!" Sakura waved Tsunade off with a tired hand, Sakura was determined she wasn't going to get back into this bed.

"Here." Hinata went to her bag as Tsunade shooed out the men.

"But-" Naruto and Raiden protested.

"You can come back in when she is done changing." Tsunade called as she slammed the door shut on their pouting faces.

"Here you go." Hinata smiled handing Sakura jeans, a tank top and a loose shirt.

"Thank you Hinata-" As Sakura took the clothing Hinata froze, hearing her name inside Sakura's voice brought tears to her lavender eyes. "-are you ok?"

"I-I-" Hinata's eyes watered as she quickly wrapped her arms around Sakura. "I missed you!" Sakura cringed at the pain from Hinata's hug but after a moment hugged back anyway.

"I'm sorry." Sakura breathed.

"You're sorry?" Hinata softly laughed, "For what?"

"Dying." Sakura answered.

"You don't need to ever be sorry for that!" Tsunade lectured, "If anything it's us who should apologize to you!"

"Yeah-Yeah." Sakura waved, Hinata turned to leave the room giving Sakura privacy until Sakura reached out, brushing her fingers over the charm around Hinata's neck. To Sakura it felt like just yesterday she was putting on her necklace that held this charm and Kakashi's ring, where had her ring gone?

"O-Oh-!" Hinata breathed, "It was found after you, u-um I can-" Hinata stuttered as she reached to take the necklace off.

"Don't." Sakura caught Hinata's hand, "It looks better on you anyway." Sakura flashed a smile causing Hinata to blush, her throat swelled shut with overwhelming emotion, so she quickly shook her head and exited the room.

Tsunade turned around giving Sakura a little privacy as she changed from the hospital's baggy shirt and pants, she was dressed in. Tsunade wasn't comfortable leaving Sakura alone just yet, what if she fell and no one was here to help her!?

"Nice ring." Sakura commented as she slipped off the hospital pants, Tsunade smiled lifting her left hand up to her chest as she stared out the window waiting for Sakura to finish changing.

"Thank you."

"When did you get married?"

"About a year ago."

"Well-" Sakura smirked, "-it may be late, but congratulations."

"Sakura-" Tsunade breathed, quickly blinking her eyes keeping back the unwanted tears. "-how could you...why would you..."

"Huh?" Sakura couldn't read through the muddled gibberish.

"How could you jump in front of Malachite like that?"

"To save you and Naruto-?" Sakura didn't think she would have to explain what had happened.

"But you were killed-" Tsunade shook her head, not wanting to ever again have to remember the pain and guilt she had been swimming in the past two years.

"I chose to jump in front of you." Sakura said, "There was never any reason for you to ever feel any type of guilt-"

"You died because of getting in the way of that sword-!"

"And?" Sakura questioned,

"What do you mean 'and' Sakura you were so young and-"

"I did my job." Sakura shrugged, "Besides-"

"Huh?" Tsunade blinked,

"How far along are you?" Sakura questioned, Tsunade gasped her heart fluttered as her hand automatically touched her stomach.

"A few months..." Tsunade breathed with a small smile spreading across her face, nothing ever got past Sakura. 

"Are we happy about this?" Sakura wondered,

"Yes..." Tsunade muttered, Sakura looked over her shoulder as she slowly pulled on a black tank top. Sakura tilted her head seeing the distant look in Tsunade's eyes as she stared out the opened window.

"Yeah-" Sakura said with a nod, "-that's the face of happiness right there." Tsunade smiled at Sakura's sarcasm, she had missed hearing Sakura's playful comments.

"I am happy." Tsunade said,

"Then why do you look like someone just crashed your tea party?" Sakura replied,

"Well it's just...I..."

"Ok-" Sakura chuckled, "-great explanation."

"No, I mean-" Tsunade sighed, "-I am happy, all I ever wanted was to be with Dan and to have a family with him but..."

"But?" Sakura asked, "I don't see the problem here? Is he bad in bed or-?"

"No!" Tsunade madly blushed, "I-It's nothing like that, I just...Dan is fantastic—never mind."

"What is troubling you?" Sakura cut to the point.

"I was thrilled when Dan proposed to me, but I always felt dreadful because he returned to me at the age he was killed, while I had to grow old without him. But even then, he didn't care about that he said he still loved me. But at my age, I shouldn't be able to get pregnant-"

"Wow." Sakura laughed, "Maybe your age really has affected you."

"Wha-What does that mean!?" Tsunade snapped glaring at the window,

"I thought you would have noticed."

"Noticed what?"

"Your age." Sakura answered,

"I-I know my age!" Tsunade snapped, "That is the entire problem-"

"That's not what I am talking about." Sakura smiled.

"What?" Tsunade was dumbfounded.

"You don't use your chakra to alter your appearance anymore?" Sakura questioned.

"I thought I simply was so use to using the jutsu I didn't even notice it using my chakra anymore-"

"Yeah no-" Sakura shook her head, "-that isn't the reason."

"Then what could-"

"I did it." Sakura said, causing Tsunade to turn around. Sakura leaned against the hospital bed, wearing dark jeans and a tank top.

"What did you do?"

"I used one of my seals to alter your age." Sakura explained, "I thought you would have noticed but clearly you did not."

"What do you mean you altered my age?"

"One of my forbidden seals, it can give or take a person's years away."

"Are you serious!?" Tsunade gasped,

"Before you get all excited about it, in order to use the seal a life has to be given for it to work." Sakura crossed her arms over her chest as Tsunade puckered her lips still not understanding. "I didn't die from Malachite's blade, granted I would have-"

"You-" Tsunade's eyes widened as she finally caught on. "-how could you give your life-"

"I was going to die anyway." Sakura shrugged, "I simply gave up a couple of minutes."

"But-But why-how-what were you thinking!?"

"It was my gift to you."

"A gift?"

"Yes." Sakura nodded, "I forgave you, Tsunade." Sakura smiled, Tsunade pulled her hands to her mouth. 

"You-"

"When I was alive, I didn't have much time, and the time I did have I wasn't able to really spend it with you and I am sorry I blamed you for my parent's death, that isn't on you and I apologize for making you feel it was." Sakura said, Tsunade rushed over pulling Sakura into a light hug.

"Thank you!" Tsunade cried, warm tears rolled down her cheeks, but she didn't care. A heavy weight lifted off Tsunade's chest and for the first time in seven years, she felt herself let go of all the pain and guilt she had clustered inside her heart.

"Where's Kakashi?" Sakura finally asked the question that has been itching at her,

"Oh, I sent him home to get some sleep and to take a shower. He should be back soon with dinner."

"Oh." Sakura breathed with a nod of her head.

"Why are you asking about him?" Tsunade smiled, Sakura laughed looking everywhere except Tsunade.

"So-" Sakura took a step back to lean against the bed for support, "-what did the Waterfall Village say?" She changed the subject.

"What now?" Tsunade blinked,

"The...Waterfall Village...?" Sakura chuckled, "What did they say when you called them?" Sakura turned, picking up the dark blue shirt Hinata lent her.

"Uh...what-why are you talking about them?" Tsunade wondered, "You just woke up, you need time to recover and-"

"Oh, my G—you didn't contact them." Sakura read through Tsunade's stiff movements,

"Well you just returned-"

"I have been in a coma for a week." Sakura said, "You have been sitting around for seven days just staring at me. In all that time, you couldn't pick up a phone?"

"Uh..." Tsunade's mouth hung open as her mind tried to make words. "...one moment." Tsunade said, quickly moving to the door as Sakura pulled the shirt over her head.

Sakura flinched at a strange pain on left side of her head, it pulsed inside her temple crawling its way into her lower jaw. Sakura opened her mouth, rotating her jaw trying to flush out the pain as she waited for Tsunade to return. She looked around the room, still in the process of wrapping her mind around the fact she had died, came back under the reapers control and was now sitting inside the leaf villages dreadful hospital. 

Sakura wondered where Kakashi was, she recalled the last time she was inside the hospital. Kakashi no matter what never left her side, and yet here she was with him nowhere in sight. Two years can be a lot of time for a person, as Sakura waited for Tsunade, she couldn't help but wonder if Kakashi would be happy she had returned?


	5. Chapter 5

Tsunade jogged down the hospital hallway, her footsteps bounced from wall to wall as she quickly ran into the nearby waiting room where she knew Naruto and the others were impatiently waiting their opportunity to slip back into Sakura's private hospital room.

"How long does it take one person to get changed?" Raiden muttered playing with the sleeve of his shirt as he slouched in this chair.

"Granny!" Naruto scrambled to stand seeing Tsunade rush through the open door, "Is Sakura ok!?"

"What?" Tsunade tilted her head, "Y-Yeah why?"

"Your running like the crazy cat lady when litter goes on sale at the store." Raiden snickered at Tsunade's annoyed face.

"Sakura is fine." Tsunade declared,

"Then why do you look constipated?" Carver questioned.

"I swear I will throw you out the window!" Tsunade growled out, not in the mood for the sarcastic comments. Carver glanced over at the window, pulling his lips into a thin line. "Stop looking out the window to see if the fall would be worth it!"

"I am just weighing my options-" Carver explained,

"Who cares about that!?" Tsunade snapped, "Sakura is asking about the Waterfall Village!"

"What?" Naruto breathed, "Why would she-"

"She wants to know why we didn't contact Dawn and let them know that Sakura has returned." Tsunade quickly summed up the reasoning she was panicked.

"Sakura literally just woke up." Carver sighed, "Why is the Waterfall Village already on her mind?" 

"Does she think she is still the Commander of it?" Hinata dared to breathe the words, Carver and Raiden glanced at each other.

"No way." Raiden shook his head, "Sakura had a system set up just in case she died, Dawn took over the title."

"But does Sakura know this?" Naruto asked,

"She should." Carver sighed as the group of shinobi turned to slowly start their way back to the private room where the pinkette waited. "She knows it had been two years since she..."

"I guess we will have to ask her." Carver said,

"But-" Raiden quickly went to argue but snapped his mouth closed.

"What?" Carver asked as they turned on the hall Sakura's room was on, Raiden sighed.

"If we bring up Sakura's job then I'm afraid she will want to return to the Waterfall Village to claim her title back." Raiden muttered playing with his fingers not looking up from the floor. "I know it's selfish but..."

"No, I am sure we all agree-" Carver said looking over his shoulder at Tsunade, Naruto and Hinata who quietly followed. "-we want Sakura to stay here this time."

Carver held the door open as everyone piled their way into the sterilized room. Naruto instantly sucked in a deep breath seeing Sakura leaning against the end of the bed, her arms crossed her over chest as she gazed out the open window. She was real, she stood inside the same room and he could reach out and simply touch her.

"Took you long enough." Sakura turned her head, igniting the leaf shinobi setting them a blaze once her emerald eyes touched their images. Sakura was exhausted, the staff along with Tsunade claimed she had been locked inside a coma for the last week, so why did she feel so utterly drained off all energy? "Were you out there braiding each other's hair?" Sakura cracked a joke shifting to sit on the bed, she was ready to get the hell out of the hospital, grab some food and just crash.

"W-We-" Naruto sputtered out sound, still engulfing Sakura's foreign face with hungry eyes.

"Mm...ok?" Sakura turned to Tsunade who gulped under the tense gaze. "Why did you have to go get them in order to answer my question?"

"Because-Because..." Tsunade racked her mind as Sakura stared at her, "...Carver wanted to explain this to you!" Tsunade said. Carver flitched at the sound of his name, he turned deeply glaring into Tsunade's face before looking to Sakura, who oddly waited for answers.

"We just wanted you to rest." Carver said, rubbing the back of his neck like Naruto did when he got nervous. "Which is why-"

"So, if Jadeite went after the Waterfall Village first, and they helped free me, but they didn't contact you to let you all know I was alive...you'd be cool with that?" Sakura quizzed them.

"Well of course not!" Raiden laughed,

"You would freak out at Dawn and Diem correct?" Sakura asked setting the trap Raiden couldn't see. "You would be upset and feel that isn't fair?"

"Well duh!" Raiden smiled,

"Then why is it ok for you to do it and not them?" Sakura asked freezing Raiden's blood as he grumped itching beside Naruto to hide from Sakura's intense eyes.

"We did what we thought was best for you." Carver stepped in, "We were worried that if we called the Waterfall Village then they would try and take you back with them-"

"Why?" Sakura wondered,

"Because they are dicks." Raiden muttered to himself,

"Did you contact the River Village?" Sakura went on,

"The-" Tsunade frowned, "-why would I-"

"Well because you knew I had strong ties with the king and queen. They were also working on an antidote to the Reaper's poison so...seems like simple math to contact them?"

"Well-" Tsunade muttered, looking away...how could she tell Sakura that she hadn't contact anyone? Tsunade and the rest of the leaf village wanted Sakura all to themselves, so they kept the fact Sakura had returned on the down low to not stir up commotion gaining attention from other villages.

"Mhm." Sakura hummed,

"What?" Carver shifted from his left foot to his right, he felt like he was standing before his commander and he had majorly fucked up a mission.

"Nothing." Sakura said standing from the bed.

"Well clearly it's something." Raiden added watching her every move.

"Do you still live in the same place?" Sakura looked at Carver whose throat slammed itself closed; he quickly nodded his head.

"Oh no-!" Tsunade shook her head, "-you are not leaving the hospital this soon."

"I am fine Tsunade." Sakura said,

"I don't want to hear it; I am not comfortable with you leaving, you literally just woke up!"

"Where is Kakashi?" Raiden wondered looking at the door, he should have been back now...maybe he just fell asleep? Man was he going to be in for a surprise when he woke up from his nap!

"I am not staying inside a hospital." Sakura said turning to Carver, "You didn't even text Dawn?"

"No..." Carver licked his lips,

"Why?" Sakura didn't understand why no one she held close to her knew she was alive. "Everyone still thinks I'm still dead?"

"Yeah..."

"How could you do that to Annistyn?" Sakura breathed.

"W-Well-" Carver cleared his throat.

"I will tell you why-" Raiden huffed stepping around Naruto, "-they had their turn!"

"What?" Sakura lightly laughed; Naruto smiled as his heart stirred hearing that sweet sound.

"I am not comfortable with you even being up!" Tsunade turned the subject, "Get back into bed!"

"They have a right to know I am alive." Sakura ignored Tsunade.

"Why!?" Raiden threw his arms in the air, "They had their turn with you, you led the Waterfall Village for years! Now it's our turn to have you-"

"I am not a toy you can split custody with." Sakura stated,

"I am not ok with you-" Tsunade went to lecture Sakura being out of bed,

"Write that on a fucking greeting card-!" Sakura snapped in Tsunade's direction, "-and I'll sign it for you, but I am not getting back in the damn bed so let it go or leave."

"Sakura-" Carver stepped forward trying to hold a gentle tone, "-you did just get vertical, you should probably rest at least a few more days before-"

"This isn't the first time I have died and come back." Sakura rolled her pretty eyes, the leaf shinobi have always been overly emotional.

"But this is the first time you were held under the Reaper's control." Carver pulled his worried eyebrows together, "We don't know if you will have any delayed side effects, hell we don't even know why you have your memory!"

"Maybe if you contacted the village who dedicated their best doctors to cure poison, you would have an answer." Sakura countered,

"We didn't want five villages beating down our gates trying to get you." Hinata stepped forward, "We were just looking out for you, like you would do for us." Sakura internally groaned at Hinata's words; her large sweet eyes caused the returned soldier to huff out. Sakura was achy with a pain beating its chest and sneering its ugly head inside her skull, her chakra felt scattered...how useful could Sakura be in her condition?

"I am starving." Sakura said feeling this was the best option to take.

"You're hungry?!" Tsunade jumped, "W-We can get you-"

"I am not getting the food here." Sakura interrupted, "I just came back you really want me to die again?"

"You won't die from eating the food here." Tsunade chuckled,

"Are you sure about that?" Sakura challenged,

"H-How about you go someplace nice?"

"Yeah!" Naruto and Raiden agreed,

"Sakura-" Tsunade turned to look at the beloved pinkette who was pulling on shoes Hinata lent her. "-I would feel better if you stayed with Raiden or Carver just for a few days, you know when Hinata and everyone else returned they couldn't use their chakra right away and they were all stiff-"

"I'm not going anywhere Tsunade." Sakura stood, "Calm down, and feed me."

"Alright." Tsunade chuckled,

"Can I uh-" Sakura looked at the bathroom, she could feel layers of dried sweat on her skin making her itch, her hair felt greasy and physically hurt when she ran her hand through the strands of her long hair "-shower first?" Sakura asked, how long had it been since she showered?

"You can take a hot shower at our place." Hinata offered,

"Our place?" Sakura questioned looking over at Naruto who blushed seeing Sakura looking at him.

"Y-Yeah Hinata and I live together now..." Naruto's face was bright red.

"Really?" Sakura smirked, "Congrats."

"Thank you, Sakura." Hinata smiled,

"You said-" Sakura turned to Tsunade as they began to leave the room, as Sakura moved to walk, she felt how sore her muscles and joints were. It felt like someone had been playing twister with her body. "-you want me to stay at Carver or Raiden's?"

"Yes?" Tsunade answered, "Just for a few days-"

"We don't live together." Carver stepped in understanding Sakura's confusion. "I live in the apartment you remember but Raiden moved into the apartment next to Sasuke."

"Really?" Sakura looked around the leaf village once she stepped out into the warm air, the sun was falling inside the sky giving off a soft glow.

"Yeah, it was hard sharing a one-bedroom apartment." Raiden chuckled.

"Speaking of him-" Sakura glanced around the leaf village as they walked to Naruto's apartment building. Sakura caught many eyes of the bystanders who all watch her walk by, "-where is the little sunspot?"

"Who?" Naruto wondered,

"Sasuke." Carver answered, "There could only be so many people inside your hospital room and well, you didn't like him so..."

"Good choice." Sakura nodded, "He would be the last person I would want to see waking up." Sakura smirked, but her smile quickly faded, the first person she wanted to see was no one in sight.

"That's what we figured; man was he butt hurt!" Raiden laughed; Sakura rotated her bottom jaw as the pain on the side of her head increased, what was this pain?

"That's-!" Naruto looked over his shoulder seeing Lee and Kiba gasping seeing the pink hair, Naruto smiled feeling happy he was inside Sakura's close circle of people, he was able to be here with her right now.

\----

"How do you feel?" Hinata stood from the couch seeing Sakura walking out of the bathroom with damp hair.

"Better." Sakura flashed a smile as she yawned feeling tired.

"Oh no- Raiden waved his finger, "-there will be none of that, you need to eat before you even think about sleeping."

"Yes mother." Sakura muttered rolling her eyes. "Look at you coming into motherhood so nicely." 

"Are You-Are You making fun of me!?" Raiden scuttered to his feet as Sakura fought back another yawn.

"Only in the ways that matters." Sakura answered watching Naruto, Carver, Raiden and Hinata get up from watching the television.

"Do you have anything you are craving?" Hinata politely wondered, "We can go anywhere you want! When I returned, I was craving barbecue chips and chocolate for days!"

"Hm nope, nothing comes to mind." Sakura shrugged as everyone began to pile out of the apartment. "We can go-" Sakura's voice froze as she watched a slender woman standing in front of Kakashi's closed door, she turned hearing voices spilling out into the hallway.

"Huh?" Naruto tilted his head having never seen this lady before, "Who are you?" Naruto questioned.

"Why are you trying to get into Kakashi's place!?" Raiden pointed his finger accusing the stranger. "Carver you were right! People will break into-" Kakashi's front door opened, Kakashi's tall frame came into view as he stepped into the hallway. Sakura's heart sang inside her chest finally seeing him, he looked how she remembered him to be...

"What is going on?" Kakashi's deep voice fluttered Sakura's nerves.

"This lady here is trying to break into your place-!" Raiden pointed, "-and where the hell have you been!? You were supposed to be back at the hospital hours ago!"

"Kakashi?" The woman turned to gaze upon the masked man, Sakura narrowed her eyes onto the woman who inched closer to her masked shinobi.

"Well uh-" Kakashi awkwardly laughed reaching behind his head. "-this isn't how I planned on you all meeting-"

"Huh?" Raiden placed his hands on his hips as Naruto scratched his chin scanning the lady up and down. 

The strange woman held long dull greenish hair and plain brown eyes; Naruto didn't understand why she was here, it was getting late in the evening and normally this is the time everyone went home and ate dinner. "What are you talking about Kakashi?" Naruto wondered glancing from Sakura and then back to the masked shinobi.

"This is Hanare-" Kakashi introduced the woman who stood by his side, he placed his hand on her lower back, "-my girlfriend." 


	6. Chapter 6

_**P.O.V. Sakura Haruno** _

All the air inside my lungs quickly evaporated, leaving me breathlessly dry as I stared at his emotionless masked face. My body fell into coldness almost feeling as if someone had dumped a bucket of icy water over my skin, my eyes left his unmoving composer as I gazed at the woman who stood in my place.

I felt a need to tilt my head confused, she was...plain looking. Hanare was an attractive woman but something about her standing beside Kakashi felt wrong, maybe it was because she was on his arm and I wasn't, or maybe I was still trapped inside a daze and this felt like a slap across my face.

"What!?" Naruto and Raiden shouted inside the compact hallway, causing a stinging pain to travel from my left temple into my lower jaw.

"Yo-You have a girlfriend!?" Naruto stepped forward, "Since when?! How-!?"

"Why didn't you tell us!?" Raiden added sounding just as flabbergasted as I was, why did they seem so shocked? They had been alive the past two years; they should know the shit that goes on next door to them. "Where did you even meet her!?"

"It's nice to finally meet you." Hanare smiled closing her boring eyes as she did so, "Kakashi has told me so much about you all."

"Well he hasn't told us anything about you!" Raiden snapped in a high-pitched tone; how could they not know about Kakashi being with this woman?

"Sakura?" Hinata whispered, lightly touching my arm. "Are you-?" The moment her skin touched mine that dull throbbing sensation inside my head exploded like a ticking time bomb that's clock had run out of seconds to tick.

I felt my body physically flinch as the grinding pain playing racket ball inside my skull gravitated. My torso bent over on its own account in pain, my jaw locked itself as I felt my teeth impact under the pressure.

"Sakura!?" Naruto and Raiden sounded alarmed, "What's wrong?"

"Call Tsunade!" Carver ordered; I forced my eyes open the second his concerned voice hit my ears.

My emerald orbs found his grey eye and his familiar mask that concealed his handsome appearance. For a slight moment the hallway was empty, and I was brought back to laying in a field behind a burning building as Kakashi held me tight, proclaiming his love for me before my heart stopped beating and my lungs deflated.

"Kakashi-?" Hanare stepped forward touching his forearm. I felt every fiber inside my body strongly urge me to rip her pale arm right out of its socket, I wanted to set her a blaze for even looking in his direction, but I couldn't. So, I swallowed the lump that sat upon my voice box and stood upright.

"Let's go." I breathed pulling my eyes from his noticeable silver hair, turning my body forcing it to unnaturally move away from him.

"W-What!?" Naruto quickly caught up with me. "You shouldn't be moving right now!"

"I knew it was too soon for you to get out of the hospital." Carver sighed shaking his head, "That kind of headache isn't normal, you need time to rest and recover!"

"I'm fine." I stated ignoring the pain I felt beating at my brain I couldn't stop myself from looking over my shoulder, Kakashi's gaze grazed over me setting my bruised soul on fire.

"Sakura?" Naruto called out my name, pulling my focus onto him as I stepped onto the elevator.

"Hm?" I hummed turning to look at the worried blond.

"I said we should wait here for Tsunade." Naruto repeated as the elevator began to lower, I took in a long breath.

"No." I replied.

"B-But-" Naruto sounded almost distressed.

"You all can wait for Tsunade to drag her rum soaked ass over here, but I am starving and getting food so-" I cut myself off giving Naruto and the others the chance to catch up.

"Did you know Kakashi was in a-" Raiden breathed behind me as they followed.

"No!" Naruto shouted causing my ears to ring, "How-When-Why-?!"

"Sakura-!" Raiden pulled himself to my side, "-we did not know anything about-"

"Mhm." I hummed as the sight of him standing beside that woman burned itself inside my eyes.

"We really didn't!" Naruto swore, carrying out the painful conversation all the way to the open twenty-four-hour restaurant of Raiden's choosing.

I sat my sore body on the end of the large booth beside Hinata, who smiled seeing I had chosen to sit beside her and not the chatterboxes who were crawling into the large circle booth from the other side.

I sighed leaning against the booth trying to tune out Naruto and Raiden's pitched voices. They kept repeating they didn't know about Kakashi being in a relationship, but I just needed them to shut up.

"Sakura-"

"For five seconds-" I glared in their direction, "-please, stop talking." I lowered my head as little by little my head began to calm, I sighed feeling the tension deflate.

"Are you ok?" Hinata's soft voiced soothed my strung-out nerves.

"Yeah." I breathed leaning back against the soft booth.

"Sakura-" Carver sat across from me seeming to be so serious, I rarely saw that expression on him. "-we really had no idea-"

"How?" I wondered,

"We-We hadn't really seen Kakashi the past few months..." Naruto muttered.

"Why?" I questioned.

"We thought he was just picking up a lot of missions..." Raiden trailed off looking like he was sweating under my gaze.

I heard her before I could see her, Tsunade whipped around the corner almost taking out our server. Her eyes desperately searched out the restaurant until she found me.

"Sakura!" Tsunade called quickly moving towards our corner booth.

"Hey." I commented, leaning on my arm.

"Don't hey me!" Tsunade snapped, "I knew it was too soon for you to be out and-"

"Sakura!" I gazed past Tsunade hearing Itachi, he moved past her quickly bending down to hug me. "Your awake!"

"I am." My voice was muffled by his shoulder, Itachi felt warm and he smelt good.

"What's the matter?" Itachi asked searching my face, "Are you in pain or-"

"I'm good."

"She is lying." Carver stepped in, "She was in so much pain it had her bent over!"

"Really?" Tsunade frowned, pulling her eyebrows together. Her face told me my symptoms did not match Hinata and the others when they made their return.

"Yes." Raiden answered from me, I sighed as Tsunade grabbed my wrist taking my pulse.

"Still having those migraines?" Tsunade spoke more to herself than me, "I gave you pain killers; did you take them?"

"No." I answered,

"Why not!?"

"Because they would make me tired and I wanted to eat before going to sleep." I willingly answered.

"Oh..." Tsunade said, "...well...Sakura you-you died, your body was done for. You were then ripped back into it and forced to fight. It's only natural that you're going to be in pain like this for at least a few weeks."

"I know." I nodded, "It just sucks."

"Indeed, it does."

"Granny since you are here, why don't you join us!?" Naruto asked,

"Yeah." I agreed, "Why not?"

"We-Well I guess-" Tsunade blushed taking a seat across from me, "-have you ordered?"

"Not yet." Hinata answered,

"And since you're here-" I added, "-you can answer more of my questions." I looked over at Carver and could see the pained expression all over the shinobi sitting around this round table, they were tired of hearing about the waterfall village. "Since you didn't contact the Waterfall Village about my return, have you at least stayed in contact with them?"

"Yes!" Raiden quickly answered, "We are there like every weekend!"

"We just got back home from there." Carver said matter-of-factly.

"How is everyone?" I wondered how Dawn faired being thrusted into the role as commander without me there to guide her, it couldn't have been easy.

"They are good." Carver grinned, "Dawn is handling her job very well, I think you would be proud to see how far she has come. Diem is still a dick, Annistyns still on the top of her class. Dawn had taken over care of her."

"Good." I nodded, feeling the worried pressure inside my chest deflate just a little hearing that everyone I left behind was ok without me here.

"The Nine are living in the Waterfall Village." Carver informed me, I laughed at that thought.

"No way." I almost forgot they had returned the same die I lost my life; they were freed from Malachite's control and able to live normal lives and knowing that made me feel calm.

"Yep." Carver nodded licking his lips, "Raiden and I tried for months to get them to come here but they refused."

"At least they didn't return to wondering town to town." I muttered seeing the server bringing our drinks.

"Yeah." Raiden commented, "That was something we were glad about too."

"And I see you have officially moved into the Leaf Village." I turned to Itachi after the server took our order. He wore a clean headband on his forehead, Itachi smiled and shook his head.

"Yes."

"I'm proud of you." I commented, Itachi smiled quickly looking away from me.

"So, are we going to talk about the elephant in the room or-!?" Raiden smacked his hands on the table looking impatient.

"What's wrong with you?" Tsunade wondered sipping on her sweet tea.

"Hey-!" Raiden turned his attention to the blonde beside him. "-did you know Kakashi had a girlfriend!?"

"Huh?" Tsunade blinked turning to me, I shook my head. "Not you?" Tsunade gasped, looking from Raiden then back to me. "What!?" Tsunade shouted turning to Raiden with an open mouth and agape eyes.

"He has a girlfriend!" Naruto joined in, I sighed leaning back against the booth wishing they would shut up about her. I couldn't even begin to start the process of my brain wrapping around the fact two years flew through in a blink of my eyes. So much had changed and Kakashi he...he moved on...why did this feel so stale and tasteless?

"Sakura?"

"Huh?" I looked over,

"I asked if you were doing alright?" Itachi repeated,

"I am so tired of people asking me that." I sighed, leaning on my arm.

"You did just wake up." Itachi chuckled,

"So, I have been told." I muttered my eyes feeling heavy,

"So-" Raiden caught my attention, "-you wanna unpack any of what just happened?"

"No." I answered,

"W-What?" Raiden frowned, "We are here for you and as your friends and family it is our responsibility to make sure your-"

"You have gone soft." I commented, what happened to us just cramming all our emotions into a box, shoving it into the back our minds and aggressivity ignore them until they went away?

"Yeah, give it some time you will too." Carver laughed at Raiden perturbed expression.

"Please." I scoffed as a smirk grew along my lips.

"You don't think you will?" Carver challenged.

"I'm not a bitch like you two, so no I won't." Naruto's mouth dropped hearing how we spoke towards each other.

"I have missed you." Carver laughed after a second. "Raiden's feeling get hurt when I talk to him like he's you."

"Your comparing me to Raiden now?" I acted offended,

"Fuck you Sakura!" Raiden muffled out with a mouthful of bread. "I am delightful!"

"Yeah-" I muttered, "-as delightful as a root canal."

"What was that!?" Raiden snapped, pointing his buttered knife at me.

"What was what?" I countered,

"I know you said something." Raiden pointed his nose upward in the air, "I just don't know what."

"You don't know what half the people around you are talking about." Carver responded. "This shouldn't be anything new-" The server came, handed out everyone's food and ran off to get drink refills.

I dug into my pasta dish leaving the conversation to the rest of the people at the table, I was halfway through my plate before I looked up seeing everyone had been watching me. I looked around the table swallowing my food.

"What?" I asked looking at each person,

"Nothing." Tsunade smiled.

"It's just-" Itachi sighed, "-It's just really good to see you here."

"Take a picture it will last longer." I replied returning to the food waiting before me.

"Everything ok Sakura?" Naruto's voice was filled to the brim with worry, I understood they had missed me. I understood the fact I had died and for over two years I was not around but for me...it hasn't been two years. I didn't like Tsunade and everyone hovering, looking at me as if they expected me to shatter. I have crawled out of worse scenarios, been through too much, I will be damned if I break over something trivial like my own death.

"Yeah?" I said slowly looking over at him, "I am eating?"

"Your quiet." Naruto commented,

"I don't talk with food in my mouth, it's rude."

"Are you sure nothing is wrong?"

"Yup." I popped the 'P' as I stabbed the last penne noodle with my fork, feeling a tightness inside my throat, it was hard being nice.

"Are you sure nothing's wrong?"

"Yes." I sighed, seeing this was going to be a thing.

"Really?"

"Yup." I replied again feeling more agitated.

"Are you sure?"

"Are you gonna eat your food?" I changed the subject. "Or just waste it?" I knew Naruto hated wasting food; it was a pet peeve of his.

"I did!"

"No, you did not."

"Yes, I did!"

"Nope."

"Yes!"

"No, you did not Naruto."

"Yes, I did Sakura-!" He yelled picking up his plate and showing me the crumbs "-look!" I smiled; he was still so easy to get him worked up.

"Fine." I shrugged.

"Thank you!" He put the plate down and huffed causing Hinata to giggle next to me.

"Where are you going?" Carver turned from talking with Itachi seeing I had rose from the booth, I turned giving off an annoyed expression.

"The bathroom, do you want to hold my hand and help me wipe?"

"I have missed you." Carver grinned at my remark, I shrugged turning to walk towards the front where I had saw the restrooms.

"Commander?" A voice called from behind me, "Commander Haruno?" I tilted my head before turning around. My lips parted as I watched a smile spread across her face, she turned thanking the takeout worker before walking over towards me.

"Y-Your..."

"Hanare." She reached out her right hand towards me, I looked at it and then to her fighting every cell inside my body from tearing her to pieces, why did I dislike this woman so heavily? Was it due to her being with Kakashi? Was this how jealous people feel?

"Yes." I nodded but not accepting her hand. "You know of me?"

"How could I not?" She giggled, scrunching her little nose up as she did so. Hanare had flawless skin, a small nose and shin. Her brown eyes were large and clear as she opened them to look at me. "Everyone knows who you are Reaper."

"Hm." I hummed, why was she talking to me?

"I am a little confused though-" Her laugh was light, almost musical.

"Oh?" I questioned.

"Yes, I could have sworn I heard rumors that you had died?"

"I did." I said,

"Yo-You did?"

"Yes." I answered,

"Then how are you here...?" She trailed off.

"I guess even hell itself can't contain me." I shrugged.

"Huh." She said looking at me.

"There a reason you're asking?" I wondered.

"Well-" She laughed looking to the floor for a moment before gazing back at me, "-I have to admit I feel a little threatened is all."

"Excuse me?"

"You were Kakashi's fiancé-" My stomach rolled, sending butterflies flapping through my chest.

"You know about me and him?"

"Of course." Hanare grinned, "He talked a lot about you."

"He did?"

"Yes, he cared very deeply for you..." Hanare breathed, "...when you were killed for this village that nearly crippled and tore him apart."

"He-He talked to you about...me?"

"Yes." Hanare nodded, "I like to believe I helped him through some of his issues and got him to the healthy place he is at."

"Ah..." I said staring at Hanare, her long hair shined inside the store light causing me to realize her beauty.

"Well-" Hanare adjusted the takeout bag in her hand. "-I have to get going to...um...well it was so nice meeting you!" Hanare offered her hand out, in my stunned state I slowly reached out accepting her handshake.

Pain shot through my arm like fire on heated quest, I cringed quickly letting go of Hanare's hand as my head exploded with a blinding whiteness. It felt like needles dipped in acid had been jammed inside my temple.

"C-Commander!?"

"Sakura!" Tsunade and Carver's voice made it through the pain, I felt Itachi's hands catching me being my balance as I began feeling dizzy.

"Come on-" Tsunade ordered, "-you need to get some rest!"

My eyes stung; my eyelids felt like metal shutters on the break of slamming shut. I fought another urge to yawn as I mindlessly followed Carver through the hall to his apartment. Naruto and Raiden were both upset I had agreed to crash at Carver's, but I knew he would at least leave me alone and let me sleep.

Against my wishes my eyes brushed over Kakashi's apartment door, it was so strange...just yesterday I could walk into his home without knocking using my spare key, my last memory with him wasn't yesterday like I believed...?

"Sakura?" I turned to Carver, "You good?"

"Yeah." I breathed walking through his door as I waved goodnight to Naruto and Hinata. I licked my lips as Carver closed and locked his door.

"You can tell me you know-" Carver walked up behind me. "-this has to all be mind racking-"

"Carver-" I turned facing him, "-I am fine."

"But you-"

"So what?" I breathed with a shrug of my shoulders. "I lost a few years of my life; I'll get over it."

"That isn't what I am worried about..." Carver trailed off.

"I died." I looked to the floor, "I died..." I repeated, my mind reflected that information, refusing to absorb it. "...and he moved on like he was supposed to."

"He wasn't supposed to move on in the first place!" Carver snapped holding his arms out,

"What?" I laughed, "You expected him to live out the rest of his life alone?"

"Well-"

"I died in his arms-" I stepped closer to Carver, "-he watched me take my last breath and held me as my heart stopped pumping. I wouldn't want him to live the rest of his life alone."

"But your back now-!"

"So, he is expected to just drop that woman?"

"Yes!"

"Why?"

"Because your back!" Carver repeated, I blinked feeling befuddled by his logic.

"I wasn't supposed to come back." I shook my head, "I am happy he found someone to-"

"So, your happy he is with that whore right now!?"

"Of course not." I explained, "But I have no right to walk back into his life and uproot it again."

"He loved you-"

"Yeah." I agreed, "Loved."

"Sakura-"

"No." I shook my head, "I don't even know why this is a conversation right now-"

"Because your still stuck two years in the past! You woke up believing Kakashi loved only you and-"

"I am a big girl." I snapped; the sound of his name felt like I was being thrown inside an ice bath. "I can take care of myself and I will adjust, I always do."

"I don't want you to adjust..." Carver breathed, I understood then why this was a button for him.

"You can't make Kakashi into an anchor-" My voice was stale, "-to keep me inside this village."

"But-" Carver snapped his jaw shut. "-you may think your fine but-"

"I'm not." I shrugged putting my hands in my pockets, "I know I'm not."

"But you said-"

"To shut Naruto and Tsunade up, yeah, I know what I said."

"What's wrong then?" Carver studied me in his attempt to pick up answers,

"I'm tired." I lied, "I need to sleep-"

"Sakura."

"I am utterly exhausted." I breathed cutting him off, I didn't have the fight in me to argue with him. "My head is killing me." I added on the pressure for Carver to leave me be for the night.

"Alright." He nodded, "You want some of my clothes to sleep in?"

"That'd be great." I nodded, as Carver moved past me, I glanced at the wall to my left, the wall that separated Kakashi's apartment from the one I stood in. I chewed on the side of my cheek as I questioned my ability to stay away from the masked shinobi who I made into my home. I knew the only probable thing to do was something I wasn't sure I wanted to do again, to become devoid of all emotion once more.

Carver lent me baggy shorts with a matching shirt for me to sleep in, with a yawn and a full stomach I crawled into his bed, the moment my head sit the soft pillow it was lights out.

Blood.

Colored with sweet red and warm, it spilled down the edges of my blurred vision. Haze seemed to coat my sight like a fog rolling off a blackened river. I could feel my body, it ached like I had been thrown down a rocky hill. My arms felt weighted down and my fingers and feet felt raw.

Gurgled screams pulled my focus off my body and towards the surrounds taking place outside my head. I felt the presence of other people around me; my hands were warm and wet with the familiar iron scent. A pair of wide brown eyes painted with red flashed through my mind, pictures of a misty faces attached with the feel of breaking bones...

I snapped my emerald eyes open.

I quickly sat up, taking in deep breathes as I felt a fresh layer of sweat sitting on my skin. I looked around; the room was dark. Carver laid beside me in the large bed with the fan in the corner blowing cool air around the room. I breathed out, running my hands through my hair feeling my heart pounding inside my chest. I reached into my memory, trying to pull back the images from my dream but I came up empty handed. I ran my fingers over my face as I felt the bleary nightmare sitting just far enough from reach but close enough, I could still feel the dreary impression.

Pulling the thick blanket off my legs I got up from bed, I racked my brain filling it with questions of what the hell I just witness knowing damn well I had no way of getting answers.

I yawned flicking the kitchen light on, I raided Carver's fridge pulling out a cold can of soda. After cracking it open, I felt an intense thirst crawl up my spine, I chugged half the can ignoring the stinging from the carbonation as I did so.

I gasped for air as I pulled the can away from my lips feeling slightly better. I thought about making a small snack but before I could move towards the cabinets, I heard a familiar voice freezing me in my place.

"Kakashi-!" Hanare moaned out, "-Oh!" I blinked, looking around the kitchen questioning myself if this was real life or was, I unknowingly still trapped inside whatever fresh hell lingered inside my dream. "Harder-!" Hanare cried out, "-right there-!"

Shock plastered my face as I heard Carver rushing from the bedroom, his eyes were wide searching the apartment until he spotted me. I watched helplessly trapped inside this spot, stuck listening to the sounds of that woman.

"Sakura-!?" Carver breathed; he took my hand pulling me towards the front door. "-put those on."

"What?" I was dumbfounded, my brain wasn't working as Hanare's voice felt like it was becoming louder and louder, wrapping itself around me.

"Put these on!" Carver snapped shoving the shoes Hinata had lent me, my fingers were numb as I did as told. I had no idea why and I didn't care, my eyes automatically went to stare at the wall. "Nope." Carver said opening the front door, pulling me out of the apartment with him.

"Wh-Where are we going?" I questioned having found my voice once we were outside.

"You may claim to be fine with Kakashi's random relationship none of us knew about, but I will be damned if you sit beside some fucking drywall listening to him fuck that whore."

"Why are you calling her a whore?" My voice called out; did I just ask that? "We don't know anything about her-?" Carver stopped walking on the dark street, he stood in front of me and snapped his fingers, I slowly looked at him confused.

"Yeah." He said, "You're in shock."

"I am..." I trailed off forgetting what I was going to say.

"Come on."

"Where-"

"Someplace safe."

"We have one of those?" I tilted my head.

"Yes." Carver answered, grabbing my hand and continued to pull me forward, my legs were numb but followed willingly. After ten minutes of walking, Carver stopped at a large two-story house with white paint and a picket fence.

"Where are we?" I wondered.

"Tsunade's house." Carver answered as he knocks on the door, "Let's just hope she is awake-" I walked forward ignoring Carver's voice. "What-What are you doing!?"

"Uh...going in?"

"Y-You can't just break into the Hokage's house!" Carver lectured me. I looked to the front door and then back to him.

"Why not?"

"Wha-What do you mean why not!?" Carver gasped, "For once it's illegal and two-" I opened the front door, turning back to him only to be met with a scowl.

"I am beginning to realize where Raiden learned his stubbornness from." Carver whispered as I walked into the dark house.

"You?" I asked earning a second dirty look.

"You!" Carver harshly whispered; I shrugged my shoulders finding Tsunade's living room, I plopped down on the couch. "We are so gonna get assaulted in the morning when Tsunade wakes up."

"I trained you to dodge." I said, pulling a blue blanket from off the back of the couch.

"Yeah thanks!" Carver growled out, "You're so helpful."

"Your welcome." I yawned as I leaned on his shoulder, my eyes closed as I felt sleep crawling over my body.

\----

"I-I am so very confused." Tsunade's voice pulled me to my consciousness surface, Carver shuckled, slightly shaking me as I still leaned against him asleep.

"We had a rough night." Carver whispered over me,

"What!?" Tsunade gasped, "Is she in pain or-or having-?!"

"No-" Carver calmed Tsunade, "-nothing like that."

"Then what was the issue?"

"Well..." Carver sighed, "...we got a show last night."

"A show?"

"Yup, between Kakashi and Hanare."

"Han-a-who?" Tsunade asked,

"Kakashi's girlfriend."

"Y-You-Sakura heard-!?"

"Yup." Carver said, "The bitch sounded like she was at a rodeo, and Sakura got a front row seat."

"No!" Tsunade gasped,

"Yeah." Carver confirmed, "She was in shock or something, I think hearing Hanare with Kakashi made this all real for Sakura."

"I can't believe this." Tsunade sighed, "Thank you, for getting her out of there like you did."

"Thank you for not murdering me when you caught me in your bathroom." Carver joked.

"You know you guys can come here whenever you need to." I heard a male voice speak up, "Your always welcome, but how did you get in?"

"Sakura." Carver answered,

"Oh." The male voice sounded amused, "I guess I shouldn't be surprised; she is the Reaper after all. Breaking into a house should be like child's play for her."

I felt Carver move from underneath me, he lowered me onto the couch placing a small pillow under my head as he covered me with a blanket. Feeling the warmth from the blanket inside this cool house made sleep run to greet me and I happily jumped with her into the deep pool where a thick spell waited.

"No way!" Naruto stirred me away, my eyes snapping open from the eminent voice. I blinked the sleep from my eyes as I slowly sat my sore body up. As I began to come to, I smelt bacon coated with a light cinnamon fragrance.

"Sakura!" I sleepily blinked looking over my shoulder, from the living room I could see the kitchen. Naruto, Hinata, Carver and Raiden along with Itachi all stood around an island making plates of food. "Good morning." Hinata greeted.

"Morning." I replied slowly standing and making my way over to where everyone stood.

"You look rested." Itachi flashed a smile, I nodded not feeling like I had slept at all. I combed my fingers through my hair, looking to my side I locked eyes with a man I did not know. He had long pale blue hair, with deep green eyes he smiled at me.

"Good morning."

"Er...morning?" I said, who the fuck was he?

"It's nice to finally meet you in person." He said, moving towards me. My mouth almost dropped open as he pulled me into an awkward embrace.

"Uh..." I trailed off, feeling an urge to throw him through a wall.

"This is Dan." Tsunade explained, "My husband."

"Oh." I realized I probably shouldn't throw him through a wall, that may piss off Tsunade.

"Tsunade as told me so much about you." Dan grinned, "I am so thrilled to finally meet the famous Commander Sakura Haruno!"

"Uh...yeah..." I had no clue who this man was. "...nice to meet you too?" I could hear Raiden and Carver chuckling at my confused expression, I could put them through a wall and not get into trouble...

"Please, help yourself!" Dan pointed to the island where I saw platters of different breakfast foods all waited.

"Thank you?" I moved to take the plate Hinata held out to me.

"How are you feeling?" Tsunade questioned me,

"Uh...tired." I said grabbing pancakes and bacon.

"Tired?" Itachi spoke up, "Why is she so exhausted? She has slept plenty!"

"I am standing right here." I muttered,

"Sakura just came back from the dead." Tsuande explained what everyone already knew, "What's more she broke free from the Reaper's control, she is going to be a little drained for a while."

"How is your chakra?" Raiden wondered out loud.

"My what?" I looked up from my plate.

"Chakra." Tsunade repeated, "All the shinobi who came back had trouble getting a grip over their abilities, it took some time for them to adjust."

"Uh..." I trailed off wondering how I could deliver words how to express how terrible I felt. "...you know how when your arm falls asleep?"

"Yeah?"

"You can feel your arm, it's still there and all, but you can't really move your fingers?"

"Yeah?"

"It's like that." I answered.

"Hm." Tsunade hummed, "Today is only the second day of you being awake, we have to keep that into account."

"That is true." Carver agreed, "She may need more time-"

"Why am I being talked about like I am not here?" I wondered to myself.

"Let's go sit down." Hinata suggested, I gave a quick nod as I followed her to another room, it was a large dining room with an oak table. Everyone followed Hinata and I, Itachi sat beside me asking the same question repeatedly. I was tired of being asked if I was alright or not.

"So!" Tsunade stood from her chair, "I have been putting this off for a while but now I think it's a good time to announce that-" Tsunade giggled, my eyebrows rose hearing her actually giggle. "-Dan and I expecting!"

"Wow!" Hinata breathed,

"Expecting what?" Naruto asked,

"Fucking twat." I sighed shaking my head.

"What?" Naruto asked from beside Hinata, "Are they waiting for a package because I have been waiting for this chair, I bought so good luck-"

"No!" Carver laughed, "Tsunade is pregnant!"

"Eh?" Naruto blinked; I watched the gears in his head grind the thought around. "Eh?!" Naruto jumped, I smiled seeing it had clicked.

"How is that even possible?" Raiden wondered with a mouthful of bacon, "Aren't you like a hundred years old-?" I smiled leaning back in my chair waiting for the show to kick start.

"I am what!?" Tsunade glared moving towards Raiden who cowered in his chair.

"I-I mean your beautiful for your age—I mean...don-don't kill me!" Raiden blabbered out as Tsunade huffed out steam as Dan calmed her.

"Your right-" Tsunade sighed to something Dan had said, "-I won't let their stupidity ruin this moment."

"Stupidity!?" Raiden looked, only to get a plate full of half-eaten food thrown into his face. "Ha-!" Raiden sounded victorious, "-jokes on you, I'll eat this!"

"Ugh!" Tsunade groaned rubbing her face. "Anyway-!" She called over Raiden's laughing battle cry. "-I have another announcement."

"Oh?" Itachi and Carver looked over to the blonde,

"Are you having twins or...?" Carver trailed off.

"No." Tsunade sighed, "I have decided to take on an apprentice."

"Really!?" Naruto jumped excited at the idea,

"Yes." Tsunade nodded, "I will train that person for a handful of months until I see them fit to take over my place as Hokage."

"Wh-What!?" Naruto and Hinata gasped,

"You're going to step down!?" Itachi was wide eyed.

"Yes." Tsuande nodded, "I have been Hokage for far too long now, and with a child on the way I believe this to be the best time."

"But-But you don't need to step down simply because you're having a kid!" Raiden whined, seeming to be more upset than I thought he would be.

"I am not stepping down due to having a child!" Tsunade's voice was hard like stone, "I can still run the village and be a mother at the same time but I am stepping down because I have been Hokage for over ten years now, I would like to move onto the next chapter in my life and that is raising my child."

"Wow." Carver nodded, "Congrats."

"Thank you." Tsunade smiled.

"Any idea on who you would like to take your place?" Itachi questioned sounding almost hopeful?

"Yeah!" Naruto joined in, oh boy...here we go... "Any ideas!?"

"Yes." Tsunade nodded, "Which brings me to my third and final announcement, I would like to officially invite you Sakura-" I looked over at the sound of my name, "-back to the leaf village, as my apprentice-"

"What!?" Naruto as well as everyone else sitting around the dining room table gasped out, their eyes wide and their mouth hanging open. I would have laughed at their expressions if I wasn't sitting in their same boat.

"What?" I dumbfoundedly questioned, what the hell did I just hear?

"I am inviting you to live inside the Leaf Village Sakura-" Tsunade chuckled, "-also, I would like you to accept becoming my apprentice for the next Hokage of this village."

"I..." I was at a loss for words, I felt everyone in the room watching me with hawk like eyes, reading my body language and facial expressions. "...I..." I was truly at a loss for words.

"Sakura?" Naruto turned his rare laser focus onto me.

"What do you say?" Itachi breathed, reaching over taking my hand in his.

"We-Well..." I lightly laughed, "...I-I..." I blinked and for a moment I really thought about what Tsunade was offering me. Could I leave everything I had built inside the waterfall village, can I simply walk away from everyone there for the leaf village...should I...? "...no." I answered.

"Huh?" Tsunade leaned forward as if that would make her hear my answer differently.

"What!?" Naruto stood, "No? What do you mean no!?"

"Sakura?" Hinata's voice was light but full of fractured hurt.

"No." I repeated shaking my head,

"Wh-Why!?" Tsunade gasped, her eyes round with confusion.

"I-" I didn't have words that wouldn't hurt them that would explain the emotions I felt run through me at the idea of taking over Hokage of this village. "I can't-"

"Yes, you can!" Raiden stood, tossing his bacon onto his plate. "You are not the Commander of the Waterfall Village, Dawn is now. You can't just ride back into that village and take that title back from her!"

"I know." I said, "I wasn't planning too."

"Huh?" Raiden blinked.

"You are correct-" I said to Raiden as I pulled myself to my aching feet. "-I am no longer the Commander of the Waterfall Village."

"Then why can't you stay here!?" Naruto yelled disenchanted.

"Sakura-" Carver agreed getting up as well. "-being here is what's best for you. I know there has been so many changes inside the village, but this is still-"

"For the first time-" I cut his ranting off, "-in a very long time I don't have a place where I need to be." I felt an overwhelming feeling of pure freedom wash over me lightening my chest from its solid burdens as I realized I wasn't the commander anymore. "I was Commander for a long time, I led an army that couldn't be stopped, and I ran an entire village while hunting the Reapers down. As selfish as it may sound, I can remain dead to the Waterfall Village and know they will be alright without me."

"Sakura-"

"I-" I breathed not wanting to listen to the voices around me. "I can't." I shook my head, I didn't want to pick up more responsibility over another village, over more people and more shinobi. I did my time, I turned perfectly good shinobi into soldiers...I don't want that kind of control again; I want to let go and do what I should have done when Kaguya's reincarnated sons approached me; walk away from a position of power.

"Sakura, maybe I brought this on too soon-" Tsunade rambled.

"No." I shook my throbbing head, "I-"

"Let's just finish breakfast and-" Tsunade ignored me.

"I have to go." I realized.

"What?" Naruto appeared sickened by my statement.

"I need to go." I repeated turning as I took my exit from the room. I tried to summon my eyes to shift but they wouldn't, Tsunade was right about one thing, I did need more time to recover.

"Sakura!" Naruto and the others followed me, but I didn't feel friends chasing after me concerned for my well being. I felt a dark pressure on my back, breathing down my neck as they wanted to shove a title, I didn't want down my throat. I now had a small taste of read freedom, I could go anywhere or do anything I wanted! Was I also willing to give that up for the leaf village?

I turned hearing Tsunade, Carver, Itachi, Naruto and Raiden all arguing, shoving facts and good points towards me, giving me all great reasons to remain inside the leaf village and accept the title of next hokage, but this isn't what I wanted.

Two years had passed for them but not for me. They all got new chapters inside their lives but was I going to have to skip mine and get thrusted into the same role but with a different village?

Where was the fairness inside that?

I licked my lips as their mixed voices bean to pound against my skull, I bit down on my jaw quickly turning to lock eyes with Itachi.

"The Haze Village." Were the only words to come out of my mouth, I watched his eyes widened as he remembered me pulling his ass out of the fire, now it was his turn to repay me.

"Where?" He breathed, hurt swirling in his eyes as he desperately tried to polish them at me, trying to get me to change my mind.

"Where do you think?" I replied, after a second, he sighed and gave a quick nod before his eyes shifted and a portal opened underneath my legs.

"Sakura!" Tsunade gasped and Carver yelled, I looked forward locking eyes with Hinata momentarily as I fell through the portal. I saw the hurt openly displayed inside her eyes but as I felt a breath of relief freedom, I could only pull my lips into a full blossomed smile.

\----

I walked through the familiar empty hall of her apartment building; all I could hear were the echoes of my footsteps, I licked my dry lips. I wasn't sure if she would be home or even live in the same apartment after all this time, but this is where I knew to start. The closer I got to her front door, the less my head throbbed and the pain that had racked me since I had woken faded into the forgotten distance.

My heart was pounding inside my chest making me smile, why was I so nervous? I swallowed a small lump that had formed inside my throat as I knocked on the old wooden door, I wiped my palms on my sweatpants as I waited for an answer. For a second, I questioned if this was the right choice.

"Sakura?" I looked up at the sound of my name, the corner of my lips pulled upward as I took in her long red hair and wide forest green eyes.

"Annistyn." I breathed.


	7. Chapter 7

P.O.V. Sakura Haruno

"Sakura!" Looking over my shoulder, I saw a small red head walk into the bedroom. I smiled seeing her annoyed face as she huffed out a puff of air, plopping dramatically on one of the two large beds that was placed inside the room.

"What is it?" I questioned looking away from her as I continued to fold the shirt in my hands.

"Your taking forever!" Annistyn groaned.

"I am not." I replied, "You are just impatient."

"I am like the farthest thing from impatient!" Annistyn defended herself sitting sat up. "I can't find them anywhere!"

"Did you even look?" I questioned,

"Of course, I looked!" Annistyn scoffed, "I even asked around and the servants don't even know where William and Arabella are."

"Hm." I hummed brushing over the curiosity of where the king and queen of the river village's whereabouts were for a second, before returning to folding my new laundry.

"That's it?" Annistyn questioned, "Hm?"

"Arabella agreed to have lunch with us today, I am sure they will pop up when-"

"But lunch was an hour ago!"

"You know how busy I would get being just a Commander." I said turning to look at the young girl, "William and Arabella run the entire River Village, they probably just got pulled into a briefing. They will find us when they are done."

"You're very relaxed..." Annistyn trailed off making me chuckled.

"Is that a bad thing?" I asked,

"Well it's not but...it's weird seeing you of all people relaxed." Annistyn explained, I shrugged turning to gaze out the window at the clear blue sky.

~~ Three Weeks Ago ~~

"Sakura!?" Annistyn gasped, tears instantly filled her dark green eyes. I smiled looking down at my fallen friends' daughter.

"Hey Annistyn." I smiled taking in her fair face.

"H-Hey!?" She breathed as tears fell down her eyes, "Th-That's all you're going to say!?"

"What do you expect me to say?"

"I-I was told you had been killed! Yo-You were supposed to have been dead this whole time-"

"I was." I said with a tilt of my head.

"Bu-But your-?!"

"Can I come in?" I asked, "I'd rather no one see me here just yet."

"Why?" Annistyn asked as I slide past her into her apartment, it appeared to be almost the same as I was here just a week ago like I believed I was.

"Um..." I turned to look at her, "...it would cause a ruckus."

"Since when are you not worried about causing a ruckus?" Annistyn studied me, "Who are you?"

"I am me." I promised,

"But Dawn-"

"Still believes I am dead." I said,

"But-How-Why-What-Wh-What!?" Annistyn quickly rambled off shaking her head. I let out a light sigh, moving to her I pulled her into a tight hug.

"I am so sorry." I breathed out my brows pulled together as I felt the pain in my chest for my careless mistakes. I left Annistyn alone, I walked onto that battlefield and I stepped in front of Naruto and Tsunade knowing I would be leaving Annistyn behind with no one to watch over her.

"What-What happened?" Annistyn gasped through tears, gripping Carver's baggy shirt tightly.

"Malachite." I said,

"The leader of the-"

"Was." I clarified. "He got me before I got him." I summed up.

"How are you here then?"

"His brother, Jadeite." I muttered. "I died with the Reaper's poison in my system."

"They brought you back!?"

"Yeah."

"Did they...Did they use-"

"Yeah..." I answered feeling a twisted anger inside my body, "They used me as a weapon."

"Sakura I...I am so sorry-!"

"I am the one who should be apologizing." I shook my head feeling so stupid, "I died leaving you behind and I-" Isadora would be rolling in her grave if she knew what I had done.

"No." Annistyn sniffed, "Your back now that's all that matters...your-your back now...right?"

"Well-" I sighed as Annistyn pulled away, looking up at my face. "-Dawn is the Commander."

"Yeah, but what does that mean for you?"

"I don't know." I shrugged,

"You don't know something?" Annistyn laughed, "Ok, really who are you?"

"I am me; I promise."

"Why don't you want anyone to know your back!?" Annistyn breathed.

"I'm not ready." I answered honestly.

"What does-"

"I came here for you." I said.

"For me?"

"Yeah, will you come with me?"

~~~~

I scooped Annistyn up from the Waterfall Village and that was it, her and I had been staying the River Village, subtract a few days inside the sand village. I about drained all my available chakra trying to transport us, Gaara was kind enough to allow us to crash inside his village until I recovered. I cleared my throat quickly looking away from her.

"Will it make you feel better if we go find them?" I questioned,

"Yes!" Annistyn catapulted off the bed, I chuckled.

"Alright." I nodded, "Let's go."

"Where do you think they are?" Annistyn questioned as we mindlessly walked through hallways.

"I don't know." I shrugged.

"What if they are in like a secret meeting!?" Annistyn guessed,

"That is a possibility." I said fueling her curiosity, her face made me laugh as we continued to walk and peek into random rooms. After a while we came up to what I knew to be a conference room, I cracked the door open. I smirked turning to Annistyn hearing William's voice.

Found them.

I was about to open the door and allow Annistyn to hop into the room, but I stopped hearing other voices mixed in array of angered tones.

"This is an outrage!" The most annoying voice on the planet cried: Onoki head of the stone village.

"I hate to agree, but Onoki does have a point." Mei Terumi spoke, she was the mizukage or village leader of the mist village.

"This is ridiculous." Gaara snapped, he was the leader of the sand village and a friend, "The Reaper has always been an ally to every one of our villages-!"

"Sakura?" Annistyn tried to read my face, I glanced at her before looking back into the room.

"Go find Cedany and hand out with her for a while." I said, Annistyn searched my masked face for a moment before nodding.

"Ok!" Annistyn said spinning on her innocent heel and skipping off down the hall as I open the door slipping into the room. On the farthest wall multiple large monitors were all hung, and each village representative had their own screen. William spotted me, he stood behind Arabella looking more than just flustered.

"She returned." A spoke, the Raikage also known as village leader of the cloud village. "We don't know what crawled out from wherever she has been!"

"Sakura Haruno was of sound mind-" Tsunade spoke, I stood out of sight of the monitors. My heart fluttered and my throat swelled shut seeing Kakashi standing behind her. Butterflies glitter laps around my stomach as I gulped in his casual tone, his hands shoved into his pockets as he appeared slightly bored. 

"You did not contact anyone when she was discovered!" Arabella snapped, "You could have put her health in jeopardy-!"

"You could have put us all in jeopardy!" Onoki added being overly drastic.

"Sakura Haruno was our former Commander-" Dawn's weighed voice caught my ear, I turned to the monitors seeing her and Diem. "-we should have been the first one's contacted!" Dawn knew I was alive; thanks to her rumors flew from village to village about my sudden return to the living. I had called her after taking Annistyn, it was a conversation that did not end well. She wanted me to return home but I did not feel that place was my home?

I am in a weird place.

"We are way off topic!" Mei shouted trying to gain attention, "This is about the Reaper and how much of a danger she can possibly be at the moment." I felt myself scoff, what the hell was this and why was this even a topic of discussion?

"Every person to ever return and be freed from the Reaper's control always had large pieces of memory missing, we have no idea what woke up when Sakura Haruno was freed-" Onoki tried to say.

"If I had been contacted-" Arabella glared at Tsunade through the screen which I thought might crack under the intense pressure. "-you would have known we discovered the reasoning for Itachi Uchiha and Sakura Haruno having perfect memory when being returned while other shinobi did not. But instead you tried to hide the fact Sakura came-"

"You know why Sakura has her memory!?" I heard Naruto's voice it scratched my ears as his bright blond hair came onto the screen, he quickly stood beside Kakashi.

"Yes." Arabella answered with a nod of her head. "Due to Commander Haruno's request, my village took over research on the reaper's poison. Even after she was killed, we continued our search for answers. As it turns out, the longer a person has the poison in their system before their death the better the odds are that they will be recovered with their memory."

"Really?" Tsunade breathed, looking like she was taking a moment to digest this.

"While we are on the subject of the Reaper's-" Onoki brought up, taking the open window to grab a hold of the conversation. I rolled my eyes at his voice as I hung back watching the show with my hands in my pockets. "-when is the Waterfall Village going to do their job?" I raised my eyebrow,

"Excuse me?" Dawn twistedly laughed.

"Yes, ever since the two leaders of the Reapers were killed off, they have been a scattered mess but there are still members running around causing trouble!" Onoki snapped, "When is your village going to do their job and take out the remaining Reapers!?" I looked at Dawn whose mouth was agape staring at the screen, was she stunned by the utter stupidity like I was? 

She fucking better be!

"Commander Dawn?" Mei questioned, "When is your village going to do their job-?" I walked forward; William's eyes widened seeing the pissed off expression echo its way across my face. I wasn't sure the reason I moved forward, maybe I had just represented the waterfall village for so long it was hard to rip myself out of the commander title but-

"It is not the Waterfall's job to take out the Reapers." I snapped standing beside Arabella.

"R-Reaper!" Onoki gasped,

"Sakura!" Tsunade smiled,

"The River Village!?" Diem stepped closer to the screen, "Is that where you been?!"

"I personally took on the burden of hunting down the Reapers-" I ignored the comments flooding off the screen, I especially ignored the leaf village's monitor I didn't want to see him up close. "-sparing your villages from dealing with the rogue group but that doesn't mean the threat from the Reapers solely rested on the Waterfall's shoulders."

"Reaper!" Onoki shouted, "What are you doing inside the River Village!?"

"What I do, where I am and where I go is none of your damn business." I snapped at the stone village's monitor.

"You should watch your mouth when speaking to a village leader, Commander!" Onoki spat,

"If you hadn't realized-" I spat right back, "-I am no longer the Commander of the Waterfall Village-" I saw the unsettled looks on the village leaders faces as I spoke, their uncomfortableness brought me joy.

"If-If your no longer with the Waterfall Village, th-then where do you belong?!" Onoki pried.

"Not a damn place-" I smirked as the ghostly expression carved into his face. "-even when I was a Commander and I belonged to a village; I never gave a damn how I spoke to you. Respect is earned, not given."

"Sakura." Gaara smiled, I nodded towards him. I did enjoy my visit with Annistyn for a couple days, but the sand village is freaking hot and I don't like the heat.

"I have my full memory-" I called looking from screen to screen, except the leaf's... "-stay in your lanes and I probably won't show up at your doorstep." I smirked as Arabella cut the call.

"Do you believe that was wise?" Arabella turned to me; I shrugged my shoulders.

"Rumors about me being back were already in full rotation." I said, "It was only a matter of time until everyone discovered I was back."

"You didn't say one word towards Tsunade." Arabella noticed.

"Yeah well-" I let out a breath of air, "-your pissed at her and I have my reasons to be too."

"Oh?" Arabella perked loving gossip. "Please do share!"

"Only if you and William do you lunch with Annistyn, she was really looking forward to it today."

"Oh!" William gasped looking at the clock, "It got so late!"

"Yup." I nodded, "That's how time works, come on." I waved exiting the room.

"Have you told Annistyn yet?" Arabella asked,

"Not yet." I answered.

"Why not?"

"I don't know." I shrugged, "She needs to get back home, but I also know she is loving it here."

"Where are you going to go after you drop Annistyn off?" Arabella questioned.

"I-I don't know." I answered,

"And you love that." William realized with a smile.

"I do." I nodded,

"The girl needs to get back in school." Arabella said.

"I know." I said, "It was her summer break, I am not stupid."

"When do her classes start back up?"

"In a couple days."

"You should tell her, get Annistyn ready."

"Ready for what?" William questioned his wife.

"I assume-" Arabella dared to answer, "-for Sakura to wander freely."

\----

"You are such a fucking twat!"

"Hey!" I called looking up from my new phone. "That's my word, get your own shit!"

"But Lance ate my entire box of cereal!" Finn whined to me; I rolled my eyes.

"Then go to the fucking store and get more." I said.

"No!" Finn cried, "I don't wanna go into the out!"

"Nobody does, you have to suck it up and do it."

"No!"

"Yes." I sighed with an eye roll. "Shouldn't you be at like, oh I don't know, at work?"

"Shouldn't you be fingering out what you want to do?"

"I am doing just that." I defended.

"You have been sitting around this house for two weeks, hanging out with us which yes, I am happy you're around and Annistyn is loving it, but you are bored." Finn crossed his arms over his chest. "You're not built to hang out and do nothing all day, you're a workaholic."

"People change." I shrugged,

"Not you."

"Why not me?"

"You don't change." Lance laughed,

"I do too." I defended, "I can adapt."

"Adapt, yes but change? Hm...no."

"What are we talking about?" Diem muttered walking into the house.

"Sakura, cereal and ability to change." Finn smiled summing up the conversation.

"Hm." Diem nodded, "How the mighty have fallen."

"What does that mean?" I asked,

"Nothing."

"Mhm."

"I'm just saying, you use to lead armies and you were a badass and now you sit around all day arguing with Finn about cereal." Diem explained,

"That was not the conversation." I pointed out.

"Does it matter?" Diem questioned, "I think your ass has fused to that couch."

"At least I have an ass." I muttered taking a drink from my straw.

"What was that?"

"I know you heard that." I smirked.

"Don't you have like stamps to go collect or some shit?" Diem asked me.

"Don't you have a girl to harass?" I countered.

"Oh-!" Diem scoffed, "-that happened one time! We were on a date, but she was just there for a free meal how was I supposed to the know that she-!?"

"Mhm." I muttered, "You do throw up a couple red flags."

"Shut up Sakura." Diem muttered but I saw him smiling.

"How's Dawn?" I questioned,

"Good, little tired I assume. She is in another meeting with Kaguya."

"Joy..." I muttered after hearing that name.

"How long are you two going to fight?" Finn wondered.

"Well-" I sighed running my hand through my long hair, "-I trapped her inside a dome for a couple weeks and then I died so..."

"Yeah but she was going to flatten the Stone Village for no good reason, you did the right thing." Diem added,

"Doesn't make her less pissed at me." I said.

"True..." Diem sighed, "...but I mean it's not like she isn't going to cave soon, she looks like she is about to blow."

"Mmm." I muttered shrugging earning an annoyed eye roll from Diem, a dark bottle encased my vision. I blinked looking at the glass bottle a little confused for a moment until I looked up seeing the smile that played on Itachi's lips. Itachi has been coming and going between the leaf and waterfall villages since I have been hanging around my old team. Thanks to Itachi, Dawn and everyone inside this village knew the offer the Tsunade made to me. Needless to say that burned Dawn even more than picking Annistyn up and taking her halfway across the word on a mini vacation.

"If you're not careful your brother and Hokage is going catch on to where you have been sneaking off too." I smirked,

"I am not 'sneaking' off." Itachi said with a careless wave of his hand, "I'm not doing anything wrong, just visiting friends."

"Inside a different village-" Diem butted into the conversation, "-thousands of miles away."

"Tomato tomayto." Itachi pulled his onyx eyes onto me, "Can I speak with you?"

"Of course!" Finn chirred in,

"Alone." Itachi corrected shooting Finn an annoyed expression.

"Sure." I stood, following him out the front door giving Diem a confused shrug, I had no idea what was going on inside Itachi's mind. It was late nearing dawn; I was surprised to see Itachi. He and I settled on the roof of my house, each holding a cold beer under the warm twilight sky.

"How are you feeling?" Itachi broke the sweetened silence.

"I hate mornings." I answered, "But damn-" I breathed looking at the early sun rise, "-if that isn't the most beautiful view in this hellish world, I don't know what is."

"I do..." Itachi breathed,

"What?" I asked turning to see him gazing at me. "Are you ok?" I questioned, Itachi cleared his throat looking ahead at the sleepy sun.

"Of course!" His voice was higher than usual, he was lying. Itachi didn't normally lie to me, what was going on?

"What is falling from the sky this time?" I asked with a sigh, leaning back on my arm.

"H-Huh?" Itachi chuckled, "Nothing! I swear, everything is fine for once."

"Hm..." I hummed, "...I am surprised to see you here."

"Oh, why would that be?"

"Well I assume Tsunade is pretty pissed-"

"Everyone is pretty pissed." Itachi corrected,

"Right." I nodded, "So you scurry off to the village I am hanging out in, doesn't seem like something your Hokage would be cool with."

"Tsunade is hurt and possibly a little disappointed but she doesn't hate you Sakura." Itachi said, "She missed you, she wanted to find a way to keep you inside-"

"That's the problem." I cut in, "I don't want to be kept inside, I want to be left alone. I fought in so many wars, I did my time on the battle ground now and I even died for them. Now that I got dragged back to this hellhole it's my turn to live my life and do what I please and having guilt dumped onto me for that is bullshit!"

"I agree." Itachi nodded, "You know we are all on your side, we just want you around-"

"I know." I sighed leaning back against the roof, "But for the life of me I can't understand why."

"Sakura-" Itachi groaned, "-I have told you a million times-"

"No-" I said, "-you, Arabella, Gaara everyone says the same shit. I am strong and blah, blah, blah, but let's be real, each of those villages just wants the Reaper living inside their gates so they can get my bragging rights."

"Even so, they all still care for you." Itachi repeated.

"Get new lines." I said, "Then come back and try again." Itachi closed his eyes and laughed at my comment. I looked up at the twisting colors in the sky. "How are they?" I wondered out loud.

"Hm?" Itachi muttered, "Everyone is good, Carver and Raiden are getting their second round of students soon. Those two seem to be excited for it, Naruto is still a bottomless pit and-" Itachi cut himself off, I could feel him scanning my face "He is ok too." Itachi's words blazed my heart as I closed my eyes fighting back the emotions I lock in a box during the daytime. 

"Sakura-" Itachi sounded unsure of himself, "-Hanare-" Her name sent anger coursing through my veins, raddleing all the locks I had placed on heart. I sat up turning to him ready to kick him off the roof! "-she is a good person."

"I-" I scoffed not wanting to hear anything about her!

"Sakura-" Itachi caught my arm keeping me from getting up. "-Hanare is a sweet woman, she is kind and caring-"

"You got to know her?" I felt my voice accuse. 

"I did." Itachi nodded,

"How could you-"

"I needed to make sure Kakashi was safe with her." Itachi quickly explained, "Kakashi is a close friend of mine, for the past months he has only been hanging around her and so I needed to make sure..."

"I don't care about this-"

"You do." Itachi stated, "It's ok to be hurt by this but I think you need to know Kakashi is safe with her, so you can accept this and move on-"

"Move on?" I turned to look at him.

"We-Well-"

"How could he-" I turned from Itachi's wide eyes gazing back into the swirling sunrise wishing it could spell out answers for me. "-how could he?" I repeated shaking my head.

"Hanare is beautiful-"

"He wouldn't be drawn in by appearances." I half snapped, "That woman is nothing like..." I quickly cut myself off.

"She is nothing like you were."

"What is that suppose mean?" I asked,

"Hanare is like...she is like a trickling pond, tranquil and halcyon. She is simple; where you were the Commander of the Waterfall Village, you are the Reaper and being around you is like...uh..."

"It's like being strapped down to a comet-" Diem's voice filled in from behind us, I didn't turn around to look him. "-that's flying at the speed of light, twisting and turning like a rollercoaster off its tracks and your seat belt ain't buckled." Diem sat beside me.

"I am a wreck, I get it." I leaned back.

"You're not a wreck." Diem chuckled, "But you lived a fast pace life that burnt regular people out, just look at Carver and Raiden."

"I see." I licked my lips looking into my lap feeling my heart cracking under the water weight of my tears when I cry alone at night. "He hasn't even tried talking to me, not even once..."

"Do you blame the guy?" Diem wondered, "Do you think he even can talk to you? The dude has got to be freaked out seeing you walking around after two painful years."

"But-"

"Dawn and I kept tabs on the leaf village and it's shinobi while you were down under, Kakashi had been completely alone taking whatever mission he could get his hands on, he did this for almost the whole two years while you were gone. I think this was his coping mechanism to deny the fact you were really gone. It wasn't until just a few months ago when he met Hanare that he slowed down and started enjoying his life again."

"Oh." I muttered, hearing all this should be making me feel better but it felt like he was throwing lemon juice on my open cuts.

"I know it hurts, it has to burn like a bitch but-" Diem cleared his throat, "-he is happy and isn't that you wanted for him?"

"Yeah." I breathed scrunching my face and blinked my eyes as I fought back the tears from slipping out into the open revealing just how torn I felt inside.

"What are you thinking about?" Itachi questioned making me breath out a laugh as my eyes filled with salty tears. Diem's face grew three times whiter seeing the tears spill over.

"I keep wishing that somehow, someway my mother will walk through my front door because I would give anything to talk to her right about now." I gasped out as I leaned forward as cries spilled like beads falling out of my chest.

"Sakura." Itachi breathed wrapping an arm around me.

"I-I don't understand." I breathed shaking my head hating the fact I had broken in front of Diem and Itachi.

"He doesn't deserve you." Itachi soothed, rubbing small circles on my face.

"I wanted to marry him-" I gasped through the racking pain the invaded every cell of my body, "-I have no idea how I am ever going to be alright and I-" I cried into my hands, "-was any of it real if he can sleep at night without me?"

"Sakura..." Itachi breathed my name again. I believed he was like me, completely at a loss for what to say in a moment like this.

"I-I am going to go get Amethyst or Piper or someone who can handle this-?!" Diem quickly scurried to his feet, almost making me want to smile. Diem and I got along so well because we both never displayed our emotions, that's how we dealt with the hand given to us.

"Whoa!" I heard Diem shout, I looked over seeing he almost crashed into Dawn. "Where's the fire?" He half snapped, "I can't use you, your more desensitized than I am!"

"Huh?" Dawn asked moving past Diem, "Where are you going?" Dawn called out to her cousin.

"To find a person who can feel feelings!" Diem answered as he jumped off the roof.

"What?" Dawn shook her head turning to where I sat with Itachi still by my side, her face froze seeing my tear stained face. "What-!?"

"Sakura is having a little emotional melt down right now-" Itachi explained, "-what are you doing here?"

"I-" Dawn tensed; I knew her better than anyone. I pulled my eyebrows together feeling my muscles tighten.

"Where's the fire at?" I copied Diem's comment. 

"It-" Dawn sighed some of the tension expelling from her chest, "-it's inside the Leaf Village."


	8. Chapter 8

P.O.V. Sakura Haruno

The bedroom was dark as I sat upon my bed, strapping my last weapons pouch onto my thigh, I was still trying to reel in all my unraveled scars. Quickly running my hands through my hair, I pulled it up into a ponytail, still kicking myself that I had come so easily undone in front of Itachi and Diem.

The back of my shoulders ache in pain as my stomach grunted as I flexed it standing, with stiff legs I motioned to move towards my bedroom door, but I froze, resting my hand on the doorknob.

My heart felt hollow as I held no twisted desire to stumble back into the hidden leaf village, but why? Was the vacuous feeling I held simply due to Kakashi and his new pearl?

He did what he was supposed to do; he moved on after I died. But now I was returned to the land of the living and everyone looked at him as if he was expected to crumble his life apart for me, and if I was being honest I looked at him too...I waited for him to leave that woman's side and rush me into his arms like he used to do not so long ago but now...why did I have to come back? Why couldn't I just stay dead?

Why do I not feel that stringent urge to storm those familiar gates in order to save the people I grew close to? How could I easily write off the friends I had made, I returned a month ago and left the leaf village in my review mirror and I hadn't looked back since. Was I truly this selfish of a person?

"Sakura?" Dawn's voice bungees me back into a reality I did not recognize. I quickly pulled open my bedroom door, extending my arm ached my muscles.

"I think you should stay here." Itachi commented reading the pain on my face from the simple act of opening a door.

"Are you going to keep the Nine inside the village while we are gone?" I turned to Dawn ignoring Itachi.

"Yeah-" Dawn answered with a long reasoning, but my mind tuned her out. The thought of stepping back into the leaf village not only twisted my stomach but fluttered it as well, I knew it was going to be like a knife inside my chest but I wanted to see him, I felt the pain of missing him, for me it hadn't been two years, I blinked and everything around me shattered. "-are you sure about this Sakura?"

"You don't even have control over your eyes or seal yet." Diem annoyingly added on.

"I won't be using either." I sighed feeling annoyed, getting out of this house was taking too long!

"Sakura-" Itachi sounded worried.

"Your village is getting hit-!" I snapped; his masked face flashed through my mind. "-open a damn portal!" Itachi sighed but nodded, knowing I was right. Dawn and Diem stood beside me as Itachi's eyes flexed from their darkened orbs into purple circles.

"Can you drop us right into the action?" Diem requested as the portal opened beneath our feet.

"I wasn't aware I had 'taxi service' written along my forehead!" Itachi bit as we fell through his portal. My feet hit a hard surface, I snapped my eyes open hearing the playful sounds of clanking metal and screaming voices smack into me like an old cold winter breeze.

"Sa-Sakura!?" I turned my head hearing his high-pitched voice. Naruto stood beside Tsunade; unknown shinobi I didn't recognize surrounded their gear. I tilted my head seeing their tight clothing and bright blue and yellow color scheme choice.

"What are you-!?" Naruto breathed but was cut off as one of the brightly dressed ninja jumped him. Itachi ran forward quickly covering Tsunade as Dawn, Diem and I pulled our blade from their slumber.

"Really?" Diem scoffed with a shake of his head seeing seven of the ninjas from the group who had surrounded Naruto and Tsunade broke off and were now running towards us. "You all really wanna die today?" He sounded cocky as ever, but even so it took only second for the three of us to take down those seven shinobi.

"What?" Mutters grew from within the shrinking group of invading shinobi, they glanced at each other and then back towards us as we marched our way to be the cause of their deaths.

"Pink hair?" I heard from inside the group,

"It can't be!" Someone had gasped, I found a smirk grow along my lips.

"Oh-" I breathed glaring into the crowd as I pushed my way to were Itachi, Tsunade and Naruto stood still surrounded, "-it can be."

"You-You—The Reaper is dead! She-"

"Is right here-" I cut in, "-and she is getting bored."

"How can you be the Reaper!?" A voice cried out.

"How can you believe you could pull off those spandex's?" Diem countered cutting down two more ninja who ran directly towards him.

"Oh!" One man laughed stepping out from the crowd, his eyes locked onto me as if I was the one who just killed his friends? "I am going to rip you into spreads!" He angrily spat making me smile.

"Hm." I hummed, "Kinky, I like it."

"You bitch!" He called.

"Thank you." I replied, having finally cut my way beside Naruto and Tsunade.

"Sakura!?" The blonde gasped, her amber eyes wide. "What are you doing-!?"

"You think I would let you guys have all the fun?" I asked looking at her.

"But you...you were..."

"What are you doing out here?" I ignored her flabbergasted self.

"Wh-What?" Tsunade breathed as she punched a woman on the side of her face, sending the brightly dressed ninja flying backwards. "My village is being attacked! I have to be-"

"We have eyes, we can see you're getting attacked. But your pregnant-" I stated, "-you should be inside the tunnels with the other-"

"I didn't have a choice!" Tsunade shouted over the clashing sting of metal. "They swooped in so fast, dropping bombs and scattered us so quickly. I wasn't able to get to the tunnels."

"Do you know who attacked you?" Dawn questioned.

"Yes." Tsunade answered from behind me. I blinked after a second not hearing her continue, I turned to make sure she was still in place.

"Ok-?" I shook my head, "-care in enlighten us?"

"Well..." Tsunade sighed punching a man square in his face knocking a few teeth lose, "...long ago there was a group of shinobi who had the ability to control their chakra strategically enough to where they could fly, they were called the land of sky-"

"Uh...-" I broke her story huffing air into my lungs as my arms stung, "-you know me, I love a good story but um, why the fuck are you telling us bedtime stories at time like this!?"

"I was telling you-!"

"Break it down simple and easy, you twat!" I snapped without thinking.

"What did you call me?!" Tsunade turned to face me, "I was the one who offered you the job of a lifetime-!?"

"Really?" I stated, "Now you think is the best time for this conversation?"

"Yes!"

"No!" I shook my head, "Who the fuck are these people and why are they targeting you?"

"The Leaf Village destroyed them, or so we thought." Tsunade sighed, seeing the training grounds had cleared out, "Now that they have made a comeback it seems the Leaf is their main target-"

"Who is we?" I cut in.

"The Sky Village."

"The what?" I responded,

"What kind of absurd cyber bullshit-" Diem laughed deep from inside his chest,

"The Sky Village is real now listen!" Tsunade lectured us, "After they take us down, they will go after the rest of the fire nation. I just don't understand why they stopped their attack and retreated the way that they did."

"They retreated?" Itachi raised an eyebrow, this did not feel like they had retreated at all.

"Yes, they came flying into the village dropping bombs and causing some serious damage but out of nowhere they pulled back." Tsunade explained.

"Uh..." Diem rubbing his face, "...I must be getting to old, you said flying?"

"Yes." Tsunade breathed, "They were on these strange machines, they flew on them that's how they dropped bombs on us, which scattered us so quickly, giving them the upper hand."

"You said these particular group of people can control their chakra like we can't?" Dawn questioned looking at me,

"Yeah?" Tsunade answered,

"They are like you then." Dawn spoke to me.

"Well then we are fucked." Diem commented throwing his hands up in the air.

"No-" I muttered, "-whatever machine you said they flew in on, I will put my money on they used their chakra to power it. They only retreated from the sky die to running out of chakra."

"Which means-" Dawn finished, "-they will have a base of sort somewhere close nearby."

"They will?" Tsunade muttered.

"Yeah." I agreed with Dawn, I spotted more shinobi wondering towards us.

"Dawn, Diem-" I called turning to face the oncoming ninja. "-go hunt out their base and bring it down."

"On it!" Dawn said with a bounce in her step.

"Not even my boss anymore and she's still bossing me around." Diem muttered as he walked off quickly following Dawn.

"Are you sure that was smart?" Itachi questioned, "We may need them to help cover Lady Tsunade and-"

"If they these shinobi do have a base set up nearby, they are there to recharge and then most likely will start a second air strike." I explained. "That is something we don't need right now."

"That is true." Naruto muttered, "Besides you have me to help cover Granny!"

"That isn't what I am worried about." Itachi sighed.

"Huh?" Naruto muttered.

"Sakura has been made." Itachi quickly explained as I turned my focus onto the shinobi who were wrapping around us. "It won't be long until they start to target her."

"Why-Why would they want to target her!?" Naruto's scratchy voice crawled up the back of my neck raising the hairs on it. 

"How about we save the catching up until after we don't have people trying to kill us!?" I snapped without turning back to look at the leaf shinobi.

"You're so bossy." Itachi muttered, "I have missed that."

"What?" I asked.

"Nothing!" Itachi nervously chuckled on my left.

"Who do we have here?" A voice sang from behind me, I kicked away the brightly dressed ninja before looking over my shoulder making sure Tsunade was still there. She was looking towards the tree line where more invading shinobi were emerging.

"What the hell?" I breathed out annoyed.

"The Reaper?" A tall slender man laughed, looking in charge and his ego overly inflated. "It must be my lucky day!" He laughed, "Bring me the Reaper!" He ordered his men behind him.

"Who are you?" Naruto groaned leaning his head back.

"I am the Commander of the Sky Village!" The man proudly announced, I rolled my eyes at his sadistic laugh. 

"Good for you." I muttered more to myself than anyone else. 

"Bring me her eyes!" The man continued to laugh as his dozen or so men took off running towards where I and the leaf shinobi stood. "I want them for my collection!"

"I told you." Itachi muttered towards Naruto.

"Really?" Tsunade said, "Now is the time for this?"

"Ew." Naruto muttered, "While you were saying all of that, did any of your words come across disturbing to your or is that just me?!" He shouted out towards the deranged commander. 

"Naruto stop making friends." Tsunade ordered bracing for the on coming fight.

"I-I am not making-"

"Fanfuckingtasic." I cursed tuning Naruto out seeing the unwanted workout sprinting my way.

\----

"Why can't we kill him again?" Itachi questioned me as I finished tying up the commander of the sky village. It did not take us long to capture him then strike down his men, and the smart ones who didn't feel like dying today all scattered from sight. Looking around the area I was questioning how this man put together such a solid attack plan when he himself was a poor opponent. 

"He could be useful." I repeated shooting Itachi an annoyed face, warning him to shut up.

"I don't see how." Itachi muttered looking at the man who tried to cast his men down onto us and tasked them with the mission of ripping out my eyes for his trophy case. 

"Sakura!" I looked over my shoulder, Dawn was jogging towards us.

"Hey." I commented.

"Don't 'hey' me!" She snapped.

"What did I do now?" I muttered.

"What did you do?" Dawn mocked,

"What do you mean?" I asked looking around, "I didn't blow anything up and the village is still standing. This is a good day for me!"

"Diem and I were at the boats before they got orders to flee." Dawn said putting her hands on her hips. "Sky ninja were flocking out of this village by the boat loads, now we have to go hunting for them!"

"Oh..." I realized. "...he started it." I said pointing down to the incapacitated commander.

"Who is this?"

"An asshole." Naruto answered, crossing his arms over his chest.

"An asshole that should be dead." Itachi corrected, I smirk. I enjoyed how I was rubbing off on him.

"So-" I looked around at the empty field. "-looks like we have a scavenger hunt on our hands."

"A what?" Tsunade questioned.

"Since the sky shinobi were literally flying out of the leaf village-" Dawn crossed her arms over her chest, shooting me an annoyed look I pulled my lips into a thin line and went to start collecting my silver kunai. They are bastards to make so losing them wasn't something I planned on doing today. "-we need to go hunting to eliminate the left-over shinobi, so they don't come back retaliating-" Dawn went on explaining.

"Dawn!" My voice cried out; my heart dropped into the pit of my stomach seeing a built man running up from behind her; a swirling thirst to spill her blood reflected inside his eyes and a shiny blade extended within his right hand.

When Dawn didn't react to my voice my feet ran on their own account, my arms wrapped around her torso. But my eyes widened feeling the throbbing pain on the side of my head as my right arm wouldn't corroborate with my command to rise and block the oncoming sword. Pulling Dawn into me as I automatically without thinking used myself to shield her and waited for the familiar pain to thrash my body.

"Urgh!" A voice grunted from behind me, I looked over my shoulder still holding onto Dawn. My heart stopped beating from inside my chest, my lungs refused to draw in vital oxygen as my eyes stared wide as the sun at his masked face blocking the man from reaching Dawn and me.

"Kaka..." I breathed, Kakashi quickly strikes the large man down but not without earning a gash along his right arm before doing so. My arms released a very confused Dawn.

"Sakura-" My name on his voice almost collapsed my knees from beneath me. "-are you alright?" Kakashi questioned turning his body to face mine.

"Wha-" I breathed out, "-are you a fucking moron!?" I snapped walking over towards him.

"Uh...what...?" He sounded confused, I reached out gripping his wounded bicep.

I meant to quickly heal Kakashi and then step away but the feeling of his muscular arm underneath my fingers froze my brain as I numbly stared at his torn bleeding skin, had his arm always been this hard?

"Are you stupid!?" Itachi's voice shattered my bubble as I quickly looked behind me, still stupidly holding Kakashi's arm. "You could have been killed!"

"Itachi's right." Dawn agreed stepping up, "You still have the Reaper's poison in your system, you can't be healed but Kakashi can." 

I rolled my eyes feeling annoyed, I was so use to being the caretaker, so I didn't like to be taken care of. I turned ignoring their frantic complaints as I went to healing Kakashi's arm.

"You shouldn't have jumped in front of that shinobi." I muttered to Kakashi; my face hot as my heart pounded inside my ears as I refused to look up at him. "You could have been hurt a lot worse than this."

"And you could have been killed-" Kakashi answered sternly, "-why are you out fighting anyway? I can tell you're not completely back-"

"I was fine." I muttered feeling like I was being lectured.

"You are not fine." Kakashi said, "You clearly need more time to recover, if I hadn't come along when I did you could have been killed-"

"Well I already died once so-" I shrugged with my shoulders. 

"Sakura." Kakashi snapped, I looked up into his exposed eye. A swirling cloud of confusion and anger laced his orb. "-I don't want to see you hurt, you are-" I swear to God if he calls me his student, I will personally be the one to put him inside his final grave. "-very special-"

"Kakashi!" My body physically cringed as my hand dropped from Kakashi's arm. I watched in annoyance as Hanare came running towards us, once near a large smile pulled onto her face as she jumped freely into his arms. "You're ok!" She sounded relieved.

"Hanare?" Kakashi asked, "What are you doing out of the tunnels?"

"We were let out." She answered looking up at him, it finally occurred to me Hanare may have seen Kakashi's face without his famous mask on. I was no longer the only person to have seen him without it. "I heard after the Sky Village's ships were blown up they all either flocked away or were taken down."

"I see, well it looks like that attack is over-"

"Commander?" Hanare brought my eyes to investigate hers, "What are you-?"

"The Waterfall Village came to aid us." Tsunade flashed a grin,

"Oh." Hanare nodded, "Well...um, thank you!" She brightly smiled almost making my stomach physically ill. "Kakashi-" She turned to him, "-I volunteered to help with the village clean up, will you help too?"

"Of course." Kakashi nodded, Hanare laced her fingers through his as the two walked off towards a group of leaf shinobi who were collecting together getting ready to repair the damage, I watched him walk away with her.

"Sakura!" Naruto gasped out,

"Huh?" I turned.

"Your arm!" Naruto said, I followed his gaze to my right forearm to see I had a warm blood trail dripping down my fingers.

"Oh-" I said having not even feel myself getting cut, "-lookie there, I'm bleeding." I smirked looking back over at Naruto's terrified face.

"You're going to bleed out!" Naruto cried trying to get close enough to apply pressure to my arm.

"Shut up." I said swatting him away, "I'm fine."

"But-"

"She is right." Tsunade agreed, "It's just a simple cut."

"But-"

"Hey guys!" Diem shouted gaining everyone inside our small group's attention. He was soaked to the bone, leaving behind a water trail. "I sunk a boat!" He threw both his arms up in the air looking so victorious, like he was on top of the world and nothing could bring him down. "Did you see how awesome it was!?"

"Ugh." Dawn shook her head as I laughed, she turned towards Tsunade. "So, are you going to have all the fun, or do we get to tag along too?"

"Huh?" Tsunade blinked causing me to smirk. 


	9. Chapter 9

P.O.V Sakura Haruno

Deep under the leaf village were hidden tunnels and passages, it was also were they kept their prison where the housed the hardened criminals waiting to be transported to blood prison, which was a fun loving facility funded by all the villages where they could all drop their unwanted problems in a permanent time out.

I never allowed the waterfall village to deal with this place simply because we always killed the trouble makers instead of shipping them off to a building where they would spend the rest of their miserable lives wasting away, I never saw a point in this waste of money and resources.

Inside the leaf village's prison were a few of my favorite kind of rooms, they had four interrogation rooms, each with a secret room hidden behind a two-way mirror to watch the show. Tsunade, Itachi, Naruto, Dawn, Diem and I all stood staring through the dirty glass at the man chained to a metal chair inside the other room.

"So, what now?" Naruto questioned looking around at everyone.

"You said you wanted in on this?" Tsunade turned to Dawn who instantly turned to me.

"I need a favor." She said,

"What kind of favor?" I asked not turning from watching the sky village's commander, "The fun kind with toys or-"

"Your kind." Dawn sighed at my sarcasm. "I want you to take the first crack at him."

"Oh?" I was generally surprised I didn't have to fight Dawn and Tsunade to let me tag along, I figured they would tell me to go sit on a couch, rest, read a book, or maybe question all my life choices but no...here they were asking me to take first dibs, why?

"You're still the best interrogator I know, and we don't know what this guy and his little band of misfits had planned for the Leaf Village or for the Fire Nation. Hell, for all we know we could have simply scared them off and they are running towards another village getting ready to hit them hard." Dawn quickly explained, I nodded in response to her words.

"Are you sure that's..." Itachi trailed off unsure if me going in there was the best thing right now.

"No backsies." I called already opening the door.

"Sakura-!" Itachi hissed as I let the old metal door slam shut behind me, I sighed taking in a deep breath, filling my lungs and quickly exhaling before entering the room with the commander of the sky village.

I felt his eyes graze me as I walked in, shutting the door I took a seat across from him.

"So-" He was fast to talk. "-the rumors are true then?"

"Rumors?" I questioned with a tilt of my head.

"Yes." He nodded, "You, the Reaper, has returned from the dead. You yourself was spat back out from the depths of hell because even they didn't want you lurking around."

"Ah-" I nodded, "-those rumors."

"You probably weren't even dead, were you?" He leaned in, "You can tell me you know; we are both Commander's here."

"Mm." I said, "I was dead."

"Ha!" The commander laughed, throwing his head back as his chest shacked with amusement. "No way-!" He said lowering his face, his eyes held tears in them. "-were you...?" He trailed off trying to read my blank canvas of a face. "Ho-How?" I leaned back against the metal chair; it did not take long to convince this man of anything.

"What are you?" The commander questioned leaning closer as if to see me better.

"I don't fully think you understand the situation your in." I smiled leaning on my arm watching his stiff movements.

"I understand completely." The man said with a sleek nod of his head, "I am sitting before the infamous Reaper of Reapers, it is said you were born in the blood of the damned so when I heard you returned to the land of the living well...seeing you crawl your way from the shadows of hell shouldn't really shock me, now should it? I don't fully even believe your human."

"This is a lot of talk about me." I nodded; my eyes glowed in their Christmas wreaths, but I wasn't going to allow this man to see my eyes. I wanted to poke around inside his head without him knowing I was here. The longer my eyes were active the harder my head pounded, I wanted to get in and out without a fight.

"Nothing inside this room seems to be more interesting than discovering one of the biggest mysteries on this side of the century and that my dear, is you, Reaper."

"Are you trying to sweet talk your way into not dying tonight?" I questioned lightly amused.

"Can you blame me?" The man across from me asked, "I have never seen a picture of you through out these years. Anyone who has ever had the displeasure of encountering you has never lived to tell their stories, yet your name had swept through every village and you placed fear in the hearts of every villager-" He was a charmer, and knew how to paint sparkly words, too bad he wasn't smart enough to know I was swimming through his head. "You must have killed thousands Reaper. Your hands must be saturated in red and yet I cannot get over just how gorgeous you are."

"Well aren't you just sweet like sugar." I commented, keeping him distracted.

"I bet you melt hearts like water-" He flashed a yellowed smile. "-but what I find the most alluring thing about you right now, is the fact that this isn't even your village and yet I can almost see the embers burning inside your chest."

"Oh?" I replied.

"You have always been a wild card Reaper, you're the Commander of one village but you fight for-"

"Your wrong there." I pointed out,

"Huh?"

"I am not the Commander of the Waterfall Village." I said,

"W-What?" The man nervously laughed, "Of-Of course you are."

"No." I shook my head, "I died, my title was given down to my second in Command. So, you're sitting in your little chair there, believing that the laws between the villages will keep you safe while sitting across from me, the reality of your situation is your sitting across from the Reaper of Reapers with nothing but my sore arm preventing me from tearing your vocal cords out and shoving them back down your throat."

"I-I know-"

"You know nothing." I said, revealing my brightly lit eyes to the commander. He gasped realizing I had been letting him chat away without a care in the world, it was easier for me to get what I wanted from him.

"I have leverage-"

"Your useless." I said allowing my eyes to flicker back to their emerald shade.

"I am not-"

"You're the Commander of the Sky Village, but much like the Waterfall village anyone can challenge you for your title. Unlike us however-" I said leaning back in my chair, "-you don't have anyone watching your back, should you fall ill or become injured you won't be searched for, you won't be missed and you will be instantly replaced."

"How-How do you-"

"I read your mind while you tried picking me up and stared at my chest. It honestly doesn't surprise me your assault on the Leaf Village failed with you in charge of it."

"My village would have succeeded if you and you Waterfall-"

"No." I shook my head, "The Leaf Village would have been able to fend you off, it may of taken them longer without me or Commander Dawn and Diem here but they would have defeated you either way."

"No-"

"When you were captured I know you were automatically presumed dead, all your attack plans will change, your camps will be moved, and you have no idea which rock your people have crawled under."

"I-I" He stuttered, his face flushed with soft reds.

"I could let you go-" I muttered more to myself, "-if you find your people they would either kill you or shun you away due to them already believing you'll do everything in your power to stay alive."

"No!" He gasped out, hear echoed through his eyes.

"Good thing it isn't up to me." I smirked.

"H-Huh?" 

"I am not the Commander of the Leaf or Waterfall. I don't personally give a fuck what happens to you and I don't have to care-" I explained as I rose to my feet. "-my job was simply to make sure you didn't still pose a threat to the Fire Nation." I moved to the metal door.

"What about me?!" The ex-commander cried,

"What about you?" I asked confused.

"What is to become of me?!" He questioned and I shrugged.

"I am not going to be the one to kill you where you sit if that is what you're asking." I answered, "Your blood isn't worth being on my hands."

"Reaper!" The ex-commander shouted as I exited the room, my body felt drained of all energy having used my eyes for far to long today.

"Sakura!" Naruto called coming from the observation room.

"Did you get all that?" I breathed looking at Tsunade who nodded.

"Yes, thank you."

"So-" Dawn cut in, "-what about the rest of the Sky Village? Do you think they are going to be a problem?"

"Yes-" I answered, "-but that guy isn't going to have any useful information on getting a step ahead of his village."

"Damn." Dawn and Tsunade breathed together making me smile a bit.

"Hey!" I turned along with my small group seeing Carver and Raiden moving towards us,

"What the hell!?" Raiden whined, "Why did you guys leave us with all the work!?"

"Uh..." I trailed off, "...I don't live here?" I shrugged.

"Why not!?" Raiden huffed.

"You look exhausted." Carver noted looking at me.

"Thanks." I said, "You look picture perfect too."

"Well this has been fun and all-" Diem groaned as he stretched, "-but we should get heading home. You know, we have a village to run and stuff?"

"Yeah." Dawn agreed looking just as tired as I did.

"Sakura!" Diem shouted, "Beam us home!"

"Nope." I said.

"Huh?"

"I can't."

"And why not!?" Diem whined, "I want to raid Finn's stash, take a shower and crawl into bed!"

"I can't use my eyes." I shrugged, "I over did it."

"Dammit! Itachi-!"

"I can't either." Itachi breathed, "I overused my sharingan during the battle, I need a nights rest before I am able to use them again."

"Are you freaking kidding me!?" Diem cried to himself, "We are stuck here!?"

"Oh yeah-" Naruto muttered, "-make it sound so terrible..."

"We don't mean it in a bad way." Diem sighed, "It's been a long fight, I want to go to my home, in my warm bed ya know?"

"Yeah." Naruto smiled, "I can understand that."

"We don't even have any money!" Diem gasped holding his face as he turned to Dawn, "I forgot my wallet in my room!"

"Sakura why don't you stay the night at my place?" Carver offered, I nodded happily accepting.

"Hey!" Diem said holding his arms extended and his chest puffed out.

"I was getting to you!" Carver sighed looking up at the dark stone ceiling. "Calm down, you're so dramatic!"

"I am not!"

"You really are, sometimes you make Raiden look mature."

"I am mature!" Raiden butted in as we slowly dragged ourselves to exit from the underground tunnels.

"See what you started!?" Carver snapped at Diem, I smiled closing my eyes...I had missed them.

\----

The first few drops hit my skin, already relaxing my tense muscles I sighed out in relief leaning against the cream-colored shower for support as I allowed the shot water to burn trails along my sensitive skin.

Itachi and I both had overused our eyes and were unable to transport Dawn, Diem and myself back to the waterfall village. Carver offered us to crashed inside his apartment, which I thought was sweet but sadly he only had one bathroom to offer and with everyone feeling grimy from the fight, I was borrowing Naruto's shower.

I opened my eyes, feeling a stinging pain on the left side of my head. I really must have over done it today, I reached out shutting the water off. My body groaned as I moved from the shower into the steam stuffed room as I began to dry my hair and get dressed. I wanted to remain inside the burning water, but I knew Hinata and the others would want to wash up, so I couldn't use all the hot water. I wasn't that much of an ass.

Hinata lent me a pair of her purple baggy pants, a tank top and socks to wear for the night. I brushed my long hair and awkwardly braided it with my sore arm behind me to get it out of the way. I glanced at my reflection in the mirror, my right forearm was wrapped in a clean gauze.

"Hey!" I looked up from staring mindlessly at the floor, Naruto and Raiden stood from the tan couch.

"Hey." I replied with a tilt of my head, "What are you two doing?"

"Waiting on your slow ass!" Raiden flashed a grin.

"Why?" I questioned; I didn't need a babysitter.

"Your still in recovery-" Naruto started to explain their presence but his words annoyed me, I was tired of being told I was 'in recovery'. "-we just wanted to make sure you were ok being in here alone."

"I can shower-" I sighed,

"You're tired." Raiden stepped into the conversation, "I don't know about Itachi but I know you, I know what happens when you overuse your eyes."

"I am fine." I groaned out.

"We know." Raiden smiled, "We are here just in case, you taught me that it's always better to be safe than sorry."

"Don't use my words against me." I waved him off with my hand.

"Then don't teach me important life lessons." Raiden chuckled.

"Where is everyone?" I questioned as I picked up my bag holding my uniform.

"Hinata and Carver went to get some food." Naruto answered, "They should be getting back any time now."

"I see-" I muttered as they followed me out the apartment into the hallway, "-what are they getting-?" I wondered looking over my shoulder to watch them answer. I was too busy watching Naruto laugh and Raiden look annoyed when I was told Naruto convince Hinata to get takeout from ichiraku ramen I didn't realize I wasn't watching where I was going until I ran into a moving body.

"Sakura!" Naruto caught my hand before I fell backward into the hallway's wall. I recovered quickly turning to see who I had ran into, but my eyes widened as my stomach soured making me feel like vomiting. Hanare shook her head as she sat on her ass, her plastic white bag filled with assorted foods rested on the ground spilled around by our feet.

"Oh, I am sorry!" Hanare slowly stood, "I suppose I wasn't watching where I was going and-" I watched Hanare as she shambled an apology together, she wore a red tank top with a yellow long sleeve crop top over it with jeans.

Hanare had a fit hourglass figure, a strong jaw line with flawless skin and small nose. Gazing at her now, after the shock wore off, I could see how she would catch Kakashi's eye. Her hair had curls laced through them and was pulled into a messy bun, long strands of her hair fell to freedom from the white hair tie holding her locks back.

"Commander?" I looked into her deep brown eyes,

"Hm?" I hummed casually.

"I asked if you were alright?" Hanare smiled with her full lips, my mind was a twisted bitch as she thought about how those lips kissed Kakashi like how I used to.

"Fine." I answered dully wishing I could use my eyes to vanish from this encounter.

"I'm glad." Hanare's smile reminded of a peaceful Lily pad, "I was worried, I heard you were injured and Commander Harun-"

"It's not Commander anymore." My voice was flat, but I couldn't sum up the motivation to flux my voice into anything else except sounding pissed off.

"O-Oh?" Hanare blinked, she reached up brushing her loose strands behind her ear when the light reflected off her wrist. My eyes snapped to the delegate chain wrapped around her fair skin, my heart squeezed seeing his clan's charm hanging off the silver chain.

"That's-" Naruto gasped from behind me, giving me no choice but to believe that this was my reality, this woman who was known to be calm like a trickling river was wearing the bracelet Kakashi gifted to me the Christmas before I had died.

"That bastard recycles!" Raiden harshly muttered under his voice, I looked away from her wrist and then into Hanare's confused eyes.

"Nice bracelet." I said, turning onto my heel without waiting for Naruto or Raiden to follow. I opened Carver's door moving through it only to feel my heart jump into my throat.

"Sakura, what are you-" Raiden gurgled his voice to a halt seeing Kakashi standing inside Carver's apartment. The two of them were casually talking as Hinata was setting out take out boxes on the coffee table next to the couch.

"Hey." Carver turned seeing me and my stone face, he looked from Kakashi and then to me. Clearly Carver thought I would be in the shower longer than what I was. Kakashi turned as well, his hands casually resting inside his pockets. Why did he have to look so good doing absolutely nothing?

"Sakura-" Kakashi nodded at my presence, my heart skittered around as I felt an aridity of different pain and joy seeing him pump through my chest filling the cavity so tightly, I felt as if I might burst under his foreign gaze. "-good to see your-what happened to your arm?" I wanted to believe I heard the tone in his voice change from his casual laid back composer to sounding generally worried for my well being, but I knew I was fishing for something that wasn't there.

But I knew then staring at his masked face, feeling stunned frozen inside my own body that I couldn't do this. I couldn't see him and not be able to touch and feel him, I couldn't watch him live his life with another girl no matter how peaceful and good for him she may be and if that makes me a selfish person than so be it. I wasn't strong enough to watch him love another woman when to me just last week he was sleeping with me, I was the one sleeping in his bed, I couldn't do this...

I needed mercy.

"There you are!" Hanare's voice entered the room through the open door, I looked away from her as she casually walked up to Kakashi's side, she had the audacity to act like she belonged there. With her added into the mix of people watching me and looking around the apartment I felt like I was being backed into a darkened corner.

I knew I stood inside the familiar place Carver and Raiden made into a home, I knew the people around me were the same faces I missed every time I left this village while commander of the waterfall village but even knowing all of that, I didn't understand why the hell this place felt so cold and unfamiliar.

"Hey-?" Naruto placed his hand on my arm, I snapped my eye towards him. His face displayed all his emotion like an open pop up book, he was always the worst at masking what he was feeling.

"Well this has been fun-" I faked a smile, trying to ease the distress expression along his handsome features. "-but I am going to bed." I said sounding like a joke turning away from the group, using my tone to camouflage the fact all I wanted to do right now is bolt out the door and not look back.

I crawled into Carver's still bed, pulling the blankets tightly around me as if they could compare to his warm embrace. I buried my face into the pillow searching for a shred of comfort I use to feel when lying beside him as tears unwillingly flooded my eyes.

It wasn't fair to Naruto, Carver and the others and I knew this but there was nothing I could do to fix the fact that when I thought about the leaf village, I automatically thought of him. I thought about the memories I was burnt with, memories that I couldn't erase and didn't want to because I still loved Kakashi. When I thought back to all the time, I spent with him it made me so happy, but I died, he moved on and I can't be simply be friends with the man I pictured spending the rest of my life with.

I couldn't stop the hope from flourishing inside me every time I looked at him, hope that he would just look into my eyes and everything would go back to how it was before I was taken away by Malachite. This wasn't fair to myself or to my poor heart that felt like it was on the edge of a cliff about to shatter at any second, but I needed to just get to over with and let it break.

I had to stop holding onto a life that I no longer had here.


	10. Chapter 10

P.O.V Sakura Haruno

My two-story house blew into my view as the air surrounding me shattered. I glanced around at the clear sky, feeling the warm tempered day and peaceful forest that edged around my property.

"Thanks Sakura!" Annistyn giggled beside me, I turned to look at her bright smile. "I had so much fun!"

"No problem-" I smiled looking into her forest green eyes, "-but we had a deal. We get back a day late you have to rush off to school."

"Yeah-Yeah!" She waved off but laughed quickly hugging me before walking away in the direction of her school with a light bounce in her step." I smiled to myself again, shaking my head before turning to the house.

"Well look whose back!" Diem's voice greeted me right as I opened the front door. He was propped up on the couch watching television, a bowl of what smelt like oatmeal rested in his hand.

"Nice to see you too." I commented shutting the door.

"Itachi came for you again." Dawn said coming from the kitchen, I sighed slipping my bag off my back.

"I told him I would be a day late getting back here." I said moving to sit on the soft couch.

"I see you're getting better control over your eyes and seal." Diem muffled out with a mouthful of mush.

"I am." I nodded in agreement; I had spent the last week inside the river village with Annistyn.

"Where is everyone?" I wondered hearing how empty the house was.

"If you're talking about the Nine, then they are still out on the town causing trouble." Dawn muttered sipping on her morning coffee. I laughed hearing how my old team was still the same in so many ways, my phone buzzed causing me to pull it out of my pocket.

"Who is that?" Diem wondered, "Who is texting you so early?"

"Why are you even awake this early?" Dawn asked a better question.

"Annistyn had class this morning." I answered texting on the phone.

"Hello?" Diem said tapping me with his foot, annoyed I was ignoring his question.

"Tsunade." I answered swatting him to stop touching me.

"Tsunade-?" Dawn repeated sounding baffled, "-from the Leaf Village?"

"That would be the one." I smirked looking from the screen to her.

"Why are you texting her again?" Dawn's voice was scrunched up, altering her pretty complexion.

"Why wouldn't I?"

"Because I thought we weren't talking to the leaf?" Diem butted into the conversation. "I mean we rushed over there to save them from the Sky Village strike over like, a month ago and we rushed out the very next morning and hadn't been back since so..."

"Who cares about that-!?" Dawn snapped setting her coffee mug down. "-why are you on a texting basis with the Hokage of the Leaf Village!?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" I questioned, "I am allowed to have friends-"

"Friends!?" Dawn sneered, "You woke up from the dead, freed from being grounded under the Reapers and that woman had the balls to try and shove down her Hokage position down your throat while you were confused and disoriented!"

"I know-" I said, "-I was there."

"Then tell me why you're talking to her!"

"Last time I checked I don't have to do a damn thing-" I narrowed my eyes feeling the fight gearing up in the air around us.

"Are you fucking with me right now?!" Dawn stood from her chair, "You selfishly died to protect those people who weren't even a part of your own village-"

"I died in order to stop the Reapers." I felt my voice sharpened as I sat up.

"You left Annistyn here alone, she had no one else to-"

"No, she did-!" I said standing as well. "-she had you, and Diem and the Nine to watch over her!"

"No-" Diem chirped up. "-that little girl didn't want us, she needed you to be there for her and you ran off, played house inside a village you despised for years and then ended up getting yourself killed over them leaving behind an entire village to run with only one piece of paper which by the way, such a dick move, to guide us."

"Why is all of this bring brought up?" I asked with a shake of my head, "I don't-"

"We gave you time-" Dawn stepped forward, "-we waited for you to recover, for you to get control over your eyes and you had your fun. You traveled around seeing all your friends which is great, but now it's time you take back the title of Commander of the Waterfall Village."

"What?" I breathed with a light laugh mixed into my voice. "Your-"

"I am not meant to be the Commander of this village-" Dawn cut me off, "-you are."

"Dawn, no-" I shook my head. "I-I'm not-"

"Are you going to accept Tsunade's offer then?" Dawn accused me.

"What?" I found myself laughing. "No."

"Then why are you texting everyone from there, I know you have been hanging out with Itachi, Naruto and that blue haired girl. Why?" Dawn breathed, "You already gave your life for them-"

"They are my friends." I stated, "I can see them if I want-"

"You can't!" Dawn snapped, "You can't because that isn't who you are, you're going to feel entitled to help them, you're going to want to protect them again and you're going to end up burning for that village!"

"True-" A voice scribbled its way into my head, I groaned seeing she had stirred awake. "-but fire doesn't always mean to destroy-"

"Shut up." I muttered not in the mood to deal with her foreign cookie advice.

"Sakura-!" Dawn snipped at me, seeing I wasn't paying attention to her. "-when are you going to take over-" Dawn's mouth closed as a portal opened feet away from us.

"All that portal opening, and closing can't be good for our health." Diem yawned watching as Itachi stepped into the living room.

"Ugh!" Dawn groaned as Naruto followed through before the portal closed.

"Hey Sakura!" Naruto grinned from ear to ear seeing me, I smiled back.

"Hey." I nodded before turning to look at Itachi. "I told you I would pick him up."

"As pleased as I am that your able to use your eyes again-" Itachi half lectured me. "-I don't think you should be jumping village to village just yet. You don't want to get burnt out to soon."

"I know." I sighed brushing off his unneeded concern. I pulled my lips into a thin line seeing Dawn's ever-growing displeased expression on her face, she was pissed our delightful conversation had been interrupted. "Let's go outside." I said, grabbing Naruto's arm and dragging him along.

"Sakura!" Dawn called after me, but I ignored her as I quickly got from the porch and onto the path that leads back into the waterfall village.

"Does she seem-" Itachi muttered after a quiet moment. "-angrier than usual."

"Nah-" I shrugged. "-that's just Dawn's face."

Itachi, Naruto and I walked down the dirt path in low conversation until Itachi's phone began to sing a light jingle. I watched his face go from lightly relaxed to dark as he read whatever was messaged to him, Naruto and I glanced at one another waiting to be let in on what the situation was.

"Uh..." Naruto muttered. "Who is it?"

"Tsunade." Itachi answered.

"Oh!" I laughed, "Just Tsunade huh? No lady now?" I teased.

"We uh...are friends." Itachi trailed off quickly texting on his phone.

"Everything alright?" I questioned,

"Yes." Itachi quickly crammed his phone into his back pocket as he plastered a fake smile onto his lips.

"Really?" I gave him a second chance to switch up his answer.

"Of course." Itachi nodded, "But Tsunade needs me really quick-"

"Why?" I asked.

"Nothing to important." Itachi lied through his teeth as his eyes flickered purple and a portal opened behind him. "I will pick you up later Naruto, alright?" What was Itachi hiding and why was he covering up whatever was going on from Tsunade?

"Uh, ok?" Naruto turned to me looking so unsure of himself as Itachi turned and practically ran through the portal without so much as a goodbye.

"Did you buy that?" I turned to Naruto.

"Nope." Naruto lightly smiled, "You?"

"Not a damn chance." I said,

"So-" Naruto changed the subject, "-why is Dawn mad?" I smiled at his question feeling the urge to almost laugh. "What?" Naruto read my face,

"Well-" I chuckled; "-she is angry because she wants me to take over being Commander of the Waterfall Village again."

"Wh-What!?" Naruto gasped, his mouth making a perfect 'O' with his lips, "But she-she is the Commander!"

"I know." I nodded,

"Why does she want you to take over again!?"

"I don't know." I shrugged, "You and Itachi showed up in the middle of our conversation."

"I am assuming she is mad because you said...no...?"

"You are correct." I nodded,

"I-I" Naruto stumbled, "I'm sorry." His answer stunned me, I expected him to fight for me to return to the leaf with him and take over the Hokage title.

"Really?" I raised my eyebrows.

"Yes." Naruto nodded, "You shouldn't be forced into doing anything that you don't want to do."

"Well..." I looked at the forest path that gradually began to turn into solid stone the closer we got into town. "...I made a name for myself; I shouldn't have expected that I could just walk away from that."

"But you died-" Naruto argued, "-Dawn took over because it was her job!"

"I know, but now I am alive, and I guess she and Diem don't like leading the Waterfall Village, it is a lot of work." I chuckled, "Kaguya doesn't help much-"

"Kaguya." Naruto realized she was still alive and kicking around the village.

"Yes." I nodded, "She is still pissed at me for locking her away inside one of my seals, she doesn't talk to me much, which honestly is kind of nice."

"I heard you have been at the River Village?" Naruto asked,

"Yes." I answered, "I was there for about a week."

"Before then you were hanging out with Gaara?" Naruto went on.

"Have you been keeping tabs on me?" I joked lightly pushing him on his shoulder.

"No." Naruto chuckled, "Nothing like that it's just...I--we miss you."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, like...Carver and Raiden, Hinata we all really miss you..."

"I miss you guys too." I smiled.

"Then why are you never around anymore?" Naruto gushed like a fruit snack, "You're getting a better grip on your seal now, you can pop in and out of villages like you use to so how come you haven't swung by and seen any of us in the last month!?"

"I...I can't..." I answered looking ahead at the path before us.

"Huh?" Naruto blinked, "Why not!? You can travel to the freaking Sand and River villages then why can't you-" Naruto's eyes widened, and his mouth snapped shut after he took one look at my face. "-it's because of him...?"

"Yeah."

"Because of Kakashi?" Naruto questioned, but just the sound of his name felt like my raw heart was being electrocuted. "Why don't you try talking to him!?" Naruto's eyes lit up at this new idea, "Maybe if you're around Kakashi, and you talk to him a little more maybe he will start to-"

"No." I shook my head.

"Huh?" Naruto furrowed his brows, "Why not? Why don't you at least try to talk-"

"You didn't see the way he walked away from me-" I breathed, Kakashi strolling away with Hanare on his arm instead of me as they went off into the sunset to start the leaf village clean up echoed clear as a bell through my mind. "-he..." I licked my lips as I turned to Naruto, "...Kakashi is better off without me in his life."

"Wh-What?!" Naruto laughed, "No-!" He began shaking his head.

"He is happy, right?" I questioned,

"Well..."

"I already know Itachi has hung out with Hanare, he got to know her and as irritating as it may sound, she is good for him."

"No." Naruto was stubborn as always, "You are good-"

"I am a mess." I cut in, "I break everything I touch, and the people that hang around me always end up dead."

"Sakura-"

"I am toxic-" I raised my voice over his, "-that's why I am staying away from you and your village."

"Sakura you're not-"

"I am built for war-" I breathed looking into his crystal blue eyes, "-not much else."

"That isn't true!" Naruto said cupping the sides of my face. "You are warm, and the most caring person I have ever met! Your stubborn and hardheaded but your funny and your courageous. You're the most reliable person I know, I can always count on you to have my back and it doesn't matter if I am in the right or wrong because you always put your family and friends first, no matter what!"

"Naruto-"

"You are not just a war machine like Kaguya trained you to be." Naruto's voice was stern, "Your Sakura Haruno, you're my best friend and you're the woman who Kakashi fell in love with not once, but twice! I won't lie I was a little weirded out at first but looking at the two of you when your together, no two people were made for each other like you and Kakashi, your meant to be together I just know it!"

"You didn't see the way he walked away." I breathed as water pooled into my eyes, Naruto lightly gasped seeing the tears in my eyes. I wanted to kick myself, I smiled pulling away from his grasp on my face as the tears spilled over. Here I was again, letting myself unravel what is wrong with me!?

Naruto did something I was not expecting though, he pulled my arm turning me quickly around and quickly engulfed me into a tight hug.

"I am sorry." He breathed, "I don't know what is going on inside his head, but I am here. Hinata, Carver, Raiden, Itachi and Granny we are all still here if you need us." I sucked in a deep breath as my eyes betrayed me and refilled with salty tears, I wrapped my arms around him as I shoved my face into his shoulder. How could I have left Naruto and the others behind the way I did?

I truly didn't deserve them in my life.

...Beep...Beep...Beep...

I felt my cell phone going off in my pocket, I sniffed as I pulled away from Naruto, I wiped my eyes before looking at the screen. I tilted my head reading Tsunade's name.

"Granny?" Naruto muttered, "What does she want?"

"Don't know." I said hitting the green button and pulling the phone to my ear.

"Sakura!?"

"Yeah?"

"Sakura, I need a favor!" Tsunade's voice was panicked through the phone, I glanced over at Naruto's confused face as he waited patiently to be told what was going on.

"Where's the fire?" I questioned feeling my eyes shifting into their familiar Christmas Wreaths.


	11. Chapter 11

P.O.V. Sakura Haruno

After Tsunade's phone call, without much question and against Itachi's loud opinion in the background of the phone call, I transported Naruto and myself to front gates of the village hidden in the leaves. The moment the brisk wind broke around us, my head erupted in pain on the left side of my skull, I bend down praying gravity could somehow take the whip pain away.

"Sakura!?" Naruto sounded worried, I opened my glowing eyes quickly deactivating them and after a few moments the pain inside my head began to ease. I breathed out relaxing as I slowly stood. "What-!?" Naruto was panicked.

"Using my eyes or seal still takes a toll on me." I faked a smile as the dull throbbing of needle like pain played inside my left temple traveling all the way into my teeth.

Naruto and I walked towards the Hokage tower figuring that would be the best place to start. I looked around the leaf village feeling a strange sense of a home coming wash over me as I gazed around at all the building and seeing a few familiar faces stare shockingly at me.

Naruto and I were greeted quickly by Itachi and Ibiki Morino. I vaguely remember details about Ibiki from my time living inside this village, he is the head of the interrogation force or something. What made this situation even more curious was when Itachi turned to Naruto and told him to go home, he was not to follow us.

"Itachi." I said, "Why can't he-"

"Tsunade's orders." Itachi breathed turning to gaze down at my face, "Sakura please, we don't have much time."

"What is going on?" I shook my head,

"Not now-" Ibiki's husky voice called rudely over mine.

"Someone tell me something before I get bored and go home." I snapped back.

"Sakura." Itachi sighed, placing a hand on my shoulder, "Please come with me." I glanced over at Naruto, shooting him an apologetic look before nodding my head at Itachi.

"Lead the way sunshine." I said, Itachi smiled before turning and jogging off with me and Ibiki close on his heels. I felt bad about leaving Naruto behind, but this wasn't my village and it wasn't my call, I didn't even have a clue on what was going on or which part of the freaking sky was falling apart.

Itachi led me down through the leaf village jail into their prison inside their underground tunnels, I looked around at the dark cave halls. Lights were stung up along the walls giving off a low glow of light to see, but they failed miserably.

"I am becoming a regular customer down here." I muttered,

"I am sorry." Itachi closed his eyes looking pained.

"For what?"

"Bringing you into this mess."

"At least the mess isn't me this time." I shrugged, "Are you going to fill me in on what is going on or leave me in suspense?" I glanced past an old door with faded words written into the rusted metal, 'The Honest Room' I raised my eyebrow as I glanced back at Ibiki. "Is that where you take all your dates?"

"This is not a laughing matter." Ibiki snapped, I rolled my eyes.

"Well not with that attitude." I muttered seeing Itachi stopped walking and was now holding open a door for us to walk through.

Inside the room was a standard stone interrogation room I was used to. It had a round table with wooden chairs place around it, the window to view into the next room had its blinds lowered. I saw Tsunade and Inoichi, Ino's father who I knew to be the head of the leaf's intelligence department were already inside the room looking like they were waiting.

"Sakura." Tsunade smiled, standing from her chair once she saw me walk in. "Thank you for coming."

"Yeah." I nodded, "Anytime, I love getting random calls and being rushed into a creepy basement, there is no red flags there."

"Commander Haruno-" Inoichi rose to his feet, "-we did not call you here to make jokes and goof off-"

"Oh, I didn't realize I was talking to you." I bit in his chilled direction.

"Sakura-" Tsunade sighed, "Please, I didn't want to call you, but this was our last resort."

"Aw-" I said turning to her, "-don't I feel so special."

"We know your still in recovery." Itachi clarified the late call, "We didn't want to bring you in unless we absolutely had too."

"Bring me into what actually?" I repeated for the third time to be told why I was here.

"What do you know of the Lock Village?" Ibiki asked, leaning against the only exit out of this depressing room.

"The Lock Village?" I repeated feeling my brows furrow at the name.

"Yes-" Ibiki nodded, "-have you heard anything about them while you were in command over the Waterfall Village?"

"Mm..." I hummed trying to recall anything I had on them. "...no." I realized, "They were a quite village, we left each other alone."

"What do you mean by that?" Tsunade wondered.

"They wanted nothing to do with my village, they wanted no alliance. The Lock Village wanted to be left alone and so I did just that. I heard the Star Village tried messing around with them but shortly after they almost got destroyed by the Lock so-" I shrugged, "-they left me alone and I did the same."

"I see..." Tsunade muttered under her breath rubbing her chin in deep thought.

"Why is the Lock Village being brought up?" I wondered, moving to sit on the one of the creaky chairs. The four shinobi who stood inside this dreary room appeared to all be in deep thought about what I had said, so I found a better question to ask. "What do you know about them that I don't?"

"We thought the same as you did." Inoichi crossed his arms over his chest.

"What changed?" I wondered, feeling curious like a cat around a new box.

"Sakura-" Itachi called out my name, "-how is your health?"

"My-My what?" I laughed, "Why the hell-"

"Sakura." Tsunade was oddly stern, "How is it?"

"I am fine." I groaned, "I am recovered about as much as I probably can."

"What does that mean?"

"It means tell me why the hell I dropped everything and rushed over here." I snapped turning to glare at Itachi and Tsunade who were stalling.

"Very well." Tsunade breathed, "But promise me one thing: you will not freak out."

"Sure." I shrugged,

"Sakura, I am serious." Tsunade warned.

"So am I. I have seen almost everything this world can throw at me." I rolled my eyes, "There ain't much left that can shock m-" Tsunade pulled the blinds up to reveal the next room. I stood from my chair quickly walking to the clear glass.

"What-?" I breathed; my lips parted as my eyes widened as I turned to look at Tsunade. There was a woman strapped down to a chair inside the other room, her forehead had blood still leaking from the fresh open wound, her arms looked as if she got into a fight with a garbage disposal and I could see blade marks along her toned torso. "What in the hell did you do?" I turned to glare at Tsunade.

"Why-Why do you automatically assume it was me!?" Tsunade sounded offended.

"That's-" I cut myself off, to finish that sentence I felt I would have to dry heave it out of my mouth.

"That is Hanare Takeda-" Inoichi stepped in, "-of the Lock Village."

"Lock Village?" I breathed staring at her bloodied and bruised face. "What-?" I shook my head, "-but she's-"

"She is Kakashi Hatake's girlfriend, we know." Ibiki nodded with his eyes closed.

"What the fuck is going on!?" I snapped looking into Tsunade's eyes.

"Hanare is a spy."

"A spy?" I laughed at the absurd idea, "You got me." I said, "This was all a really good-"

"This is no joke." Inoichi snapped, "That woman in there has been spying on our village for months!" I turned from Inoichi and locking on Itachi.

"You said she was good." I said,

"I thought she was." Itachi looked to the floor.

"No." I shook my head, that was good enough. "You said she was great, you claimed her to be kind and a fucking trickling river, you cleared her to be around this village and around-!" My stomach felt like it was strapped to a drop tower as it pulpit into my lower abdomen.

"I am sorry, I truly thought-"

"Where the hell is Kakashi?" I looked around the room.

"He doesn't know she is here." Ibiki answered, "We don't know what Hanare got out of him, we need time to-"

"You don't really think he would leak information-"

"We don't know." Ibiki's voice was stale.

"What the fuck you mean you don't know?!" I snapped, taking steps towards him. "Kakashi Hatake is one of your most dedicated shinobi-"

"He was going to leave the leaf village to follow you." Inoichi calmly said. Well he got me there... "We simply don't know what Hanare has gotten from him, or from anyone else from the village. She has been here for months undercover-"

"Why?"

"We have reason to believe that the Lock Village sent Hanare to gather information about the fire nation."

"Why?" I repeated.

"Because they want to bring us down." Tsunade said. "We got reports of her being inside multiple other villages with the same MO-"

"What MO?" I asked,

"She will get with a man, generally a shinobi who is high up in the ranks. Hanare will act like she loves them until she gets whatever information she needs out of them and then she vanishes from the village without a trace." Ibiki explained,

"Her pictures have flooded the surrounding area; four villages are desperately searching for her right now as we speak." Tsunade said as I glared through the glass.

"Why am I here?" I asked.

"We can't break her." Itachi said,

"What?" I laughed turning to Inoichi. "You have literally one job and you can't do it?"

"Now is not the time." Tsunade lectured, "We need to find out what information Hanare has collected."

"Why the time crunch?"

"We don't have enough time-" Tsunade explained, "-because the lock village has one of our own."

"Really?"

"Yes, Riichi." Tsunade closed her eyes, one thing I thought I knew about Tsunade before being banished was she loved her shinobi, she always wanted to see them come home, maybe that hadn't changed.

"We believe Hanare had to call her contact inside her village at a certain time and when we contained her, she missed her window and not even a full day later we get a message from the Lock Village." Inoichi explained.

"What did the message say?"

"They want to trade their spy for our man." Inoichi answered, I felt the level of hatred Inoichi held for Hanare. I understand she was a spy and has been watching the leaf village from the inside but that didn't explain why Inoichi blared at her the way he did.

"Why do you say you can't break her?" I questioned.

"I can't find anything inside her mind when I look into it." Inoichi spat, spit flying from between his lips as he glared through the glass. Hanare sat strapped to her metal chair, her head tilted downward, and her eyes closed. I tilted my head studying her, she didn't appear tired or to be in any real pain.

"How long did you work on her?"

"Hours."

"Really?" I sounded shocked.

"What?" Inoichi turned to me.

"Nothing." I shrugged, "You claim to have tortured that girl in there for 'hours' but she looks like she just took a stroll through a park-"

"What are you saying Reaper?" Inoichi narrowed his eyes onto me, making me grin.

"I'm saying you don't swing it like you use to, Inoichi." As the words left my mouth, he barreled his way towards me, flames sparked his eyes. His short temper matched his daughters down to the last eye twitch, I guess the apple really doesn't fall to far from the tree, but Itachi got in between the fun.

"We are not here to fight each other!" Itachi lectured, "We have no idea what Riichi could be going through right now!"

I had been right about the strange feeling I got from Hanare, it wasn't simply just because she was dating Kakashi and I wasn't...Kakashi...what the hell was he going to think when this gets out through the village? My heart ached for the pain he was going to be in, and I wanted to shelter but I knew I couldn't.

"Sakura?" Tsunade broke my train of thought, "What are you thinking-?"

"I am thinking Hanare here was trained for this."

"Trained for what?" Itachi asked,

"To do what she does for a living." I answered, "She as trained to endure torture, so it doesn't surprise me that she can hold out against Inoichi."

"Do you think you could break her?!" Tsunade breathed, her eyes were almost pleading with me to sing to her what she wanted to hear.

"I won't know until I get there." I said, "I don't know how skilled she is, and to have been living among you all for as long as she was...well, she has to be good."

"Are you sure you can do this?" Itachi's voice shook with worry, I shrugged.

"This is what I was built to do." I said,

"Sakura, no-" Tsunade's eyes filled with sadness.

"If I am going to do this-" I rudely cut Tsunade off, "-no one can interrupt me."

"Why would we-"

"Because I know you." I said, "If I go in that room, we are going to do this my way since yours had failed, got it?"

"Yes Reaper." Ibiki nodded, "Everything you should need is already placed inside the room."

"Fantastic." I sarcastically commented turning to exit the room.

"Sakura-!" Tsunade breathed catching my eyes with her, "-be careful."

"Always." I smirked as I moved out of the room, I took in a deep breath trying to steady the rage I felt building up inside my chest before entering the conjoined room.

It was time to get this show on the road. As I pulled the screechy metal door open, Hanare was so close within my reach and I had to do everything necessary to break her into spilling her guts, I was really going to enjoy this.

The metal door slammed behind me as I moved to sit across from Hanare, she didn't look up nor budge hearing my chair scrape across the floor. As I took a seat the chair groaned under my weight, it being too old for use it cried as I moved around to get comfortable.

I could feel Tsunade and Itachi squirming around behind me watching with anticipation for someone to say something, I almost wanted to smile at their swirling fresh misery.

"They sent in you?" Hanare laughed, her voice cracking at the high notes.

"Why wouldn't they?" I wondered.

"Sending in Kakashi's ex-fiancée to interrogate his new girlfriend is just...hilarious...how many strings did you have to pull to get in here?" Hanare pulled her head up to gaze at me, her eyes were darkened almost mixing to a sucking dark abyss. Her facial features were tight, and her skin looked almost gray. If I didn't know better, I would say this was a completely different person.

"I don't care about you enough to pull strings." I answered,

"Right." Hanare scoffed, "Why are you sitting here then?"

"I was asked too." I said,

"Asked?"

"Mhm." I hummed.

"By whom?"

"The Hokage of the village you snuck into and have been spying on."

"That little man from earlier-" A sly grin spread across her face, "-is he watching us now?"

"Well I wasn't here earlier; I don't know who your referring too."

"The ugly mutt with the scar across his face." Hanare spat out, lightly shocking me. Where was this trickling river Itachi talked about that was so peaceful to be around.

"Ibiki is his name, and yes he is watching us now."

"He couldn't get it up so now he has to send in a girl to do his job-"

"Oh, he isn't watching because he wants to." I smirked, "He is supervising."

"Are you on a leash or something-"

"Not a damn thing on this earth can put me on a leash." I grinned, "Unlike yourself, Ibiki is here watching over you, to make sure I don't kill you."

"You're not-"

"Your forgetting-"

"I know who you are-" Hanare rolled her eyes, oh how I was going to enjoy ripping those orbs from their warm sockets.

"Who I am is not what you should be concerned about-" I leaned backwards in the chair, "-it's what I am that should have you shaking in your seat right about now."


	12. Chapter 12

P.O.V. Sakura Haruno

"You're just the Commander of-"

"I thought I already told you-" I smiled tilting my head to the side; "-I am not a Commander anymore."

"The-Then why are you here?"

"Tsunade called in a favor, when you have the Reaper on speed dial it would be smart to delegate most of the dirty work onto a person who has no ties to any village."

"Dirty work?"

"Mhm." I nodded with a growing smile, "See-" I said leaning forward, "-your village knows the Leaf has captured you. They know you have been compromised and they seem to have one of the Leaf shinobi held hostage and they want to trade you for him."

"Why are you here for that?" Hanare breathed not getting the big picture.

"Mm, sweetie I am not here for the switching of hostages. Frankly I don't really give a damn, all I want to do right now is gut you where you sit, then stuff you like a scarecrow and leave you at the Lock Village's front door as a message to not fuck with the Leaf Village but hey-" I leaned back in my seat. "-I am here by Tsunade's request so we can't have too much fun."

"You-You wouldn't really-"

"Oh, I would, and I have. Why do you think no one wants to willingly fuck with the Waterfall Village?" I asked tilting my head, "Unlike Tsunade, I never allowed anyone to mess with my soldiers and if they did-" I chuckled; "-I made it rain down on them like it was the fucking fourth of July."

I turned my head to look at the mirror, waiting to see if Tsunade wouldn't object to my little date with Hanare but there was a knock on the mirror making me huff.

"Looks like you're in luck-" I muttered to myself "-she is such a buzz kill-" as I leaned on the table with my arms, Hanare held a questionable look on her face as she watched me. "-I am going to give you two options."

"Huh?" She blinked.

"The first option would be the good old boring easy way; you simply tell me why you crashed at this village and what you discovered-" Hanare cut me off:

"Like I have told that deranged psychopath a hundred times-!" Hanare's eyes filled with tears, "-I moved to this village to have a better life!" I studied her reaction, just a moment ago she appeared to be lifeless like she was blocking out everything around her and now here she sat playing a victim card, interesting.

"Or-" I continued, "-my favorite option number two and I make you talk."

"I have nothing to say, I love this village and all the people I have made into my friends. Just go talk to Kakashi and he will tell you-"

"Oh, don't worry-" I said, "-we will be getting to him, he will have his turn to talk."

"Wh-What?" Hanare gasped, "You-You're going to do this to him!?"

"If you don't talk than yes."

"How-How could you!? You were with him; you were engaged to-"

"Is that supposed to make me feel melancholic or...?" I trailed off,

"Your heartless!"

"And that's why I am called the Reaper." I grinned, "Now pick an option or I can simply do this the easy way."

"The easy way?" Hanare blinked, "But this is the easy way."

"Last chance." I said as I rose from the metal folding chair, "Once you've picked, there is no going back."

"What are you-" Hanare shook her head confused, but I didn't let her get out the rest of her sentence. I didn't care what she had to say unless it had to do with the leaf village and what information she plagiarized, I lifted my leg kicking her chair forcing her to fly backwards until she crashed into the wall, cracking pieces of stone around her.

"I don't like wasting my time." I said, carelessly walking over. I used my foot to pull her slightly away from the wall. "Think about what your about to agree to-" I said, "-do you really want to be locked inside a room with the Reaper alone?"

"I already told you-!" Hanare cried, "-I have nothing to tell you!?" I sighed, using my foot to tip her chair back. Hanare gasped at the feeling of falling but was quickly interrupted by being caught by the rock wall.

"Going once." I said turning to the large table pushed against the left wall of the room, I walked over and picked up a dirty gray stained towel.

"I did nothing wrong!" Hanare pleaded.

"Going twice." I replied as I walked back to her, quickly dropping the towel over her face.

"Go ask Kakashi, he will vogue for me-" Hanare muffled through the granite material, I summed a simple water jutsu, letting it pour down from the ceiling like an unpleasant shower and dump onto Hanare, I took steps back in order to not get wet.

I looked around after two minutes of the water pouring, I looked at my phone quickly texting Hinata back before stopping the jutsu from completely drowning Hanare, who gasped for air once I removed the wet towel, her long dull green hair clung to her face and neck.

"Your insane!"

"Only on Tuesdays." I replied. "Are you ready to talk?"

"How many times do I-!?" I cut Hanare off, roughly plopping down the towel back over her face as I reactivated my water jutsu, letting it drench Hanare as I simulated the drowning effect.

"I can do this all day." I called over the loud roar of water.

\----

After an hour, Hanare still hadn't broken. I decided to retired waterboarding for the moment. I discarded the wet towel onto the floor, dropping Hanare on all four legs she desperately gasped out sucking in air into her wet lungs as if she has never breathed a breath of dry air in her entire life.

"You-You must be really enjoying this." Hanare spat as I dragged her back to sit at the table, I raised an eyebrow seeing the cookie cutter attitude was beginning to crack.

"Oh yes-" I said, "-this is how I pictured spending my Wednesday night. Not spending time with friends or catching up on the latest TV shows, this is what I pictured I would be doing."

I pushed Hanare so close to the table I could hear she was already having trouble taking in dagger breaths. As a yawn bloomed inside my lips, I picked up a sharp looking blade. After an hour inside this room with Hanare I was beginning to understand what type of training she was skilled with.

Much like how Kaguya trained me, the answer to enduring rounds of torture was just really mind over matter. Hanare was able to block out any physical pain and focused all her energy on her mental thinking which is truly the most annoying trait possible. It didn't matter how many times I drew my blade across her fair skin, it wouldn't affect her in the ways I needed it too.

So, to counter this I was going to have to not only torture her physically but now I had to get inside her mind and trick her into not knowing what was real and what was fabricated. This would be easy if I didn't get a bitch of a migraine every time, I used my freaking eyes.

I quickly thought back to the River and Sand Villages, I just realized I didn't get a headache when I used my eyes or seals traveling between their villages. I scratched my chin as I sat down across from Hanare.

It hurt to activate my Christmas wreath eyes, it almost felt like I was staring at the sun while dripping lemon juice into my bare eyes, but I pulled them up none the less. I looked up at Hanare only to feel the wind get knocked out of my chest.

I stared at Hanare; a light-colored cloud floated around her as I saw a bright thread running off into the distance. My stomach soured as I turned from staring at the thread and towards her.

"You?" I breathed; my eyebrows furrowed together as all the twisted pieces finally fell into their place. Hanare darkly smiled as her eyes frosted over, she didn't look like the sweet woman Itachi talked about and the one I met in the hallway.

I jumped from sitting, the metal chair flew backwards onto its side as I quickly reach round the table drawing my fist back I punched Hanare, her head went flying sideways as I gripped her hair my eyes burned against her image as I brought her face to look into my eyes.

"Took you long enough." Hanare sneered at me, I tightened my grip on her hair before slamming her head down against the metal table, I heard the crunch of her nose, her blood dripped onto the shiny surface, but I didn't care. I reached out and plucked away the thread that was tied to Hanare.

"Find me Kakashi!" I yelled at the mirror, Hanare darkly laughed. Blood dripped down her busted lip and nose as she smiled up at me.

"You made it such a bitch to keep him in line-" My fist colliding with her face shut her up, I stormed from the interrogation room, quickly slamming the door shut as my mind raced miles a second.

"No one goes in or out of this room." I pointed to the guard on standby who quickly nodded. "I will be the one to rip your heart out if Hanare moves so much as a fucking inch!"

"Ye-Yes ma'am." The guard shook in his shoes.

"Sakura!?" Tsunade ran out into the hallway with Itachi tightly on her heels. "What in the world-!?"

"I need to find Kakashi." I sputtered out through the maze of thoughts clogging my brain, my feet already running on their own through the dark halls.

"Sakura, wait-!?" Tsunade called after me as she followed me up to the ground floor, "-will you tell me what the hell-"

"I didn't see it." I breathed shaking my head as I looked around the village trying to scan for his chakra, the pain inside my head slowly began to clear and evaporate. 

"What?" Itachi asked, "See what?"

"My seal was jacked from returning-" I shook my head, spotting his chakra in the distance I took off into a sprint before wrapping air around my body.

"Sakura!?" Were the last words I heard before dropping into Carver's apartment, I gazed around seeing Carver and Raiden's confused expressions as they sat on his couch, looking like they were bracing for the sky to come collapsing down.

"Ok...?" Carver said relaxing seeing it was just me, "Why not fuck up my apartment with your wind, that's cool." I ignored him, moving from his apartment I banged on Kakashi's front door, a sour feeling settled inside my lower stomach.

Carver, Raiden and Naruto all came out into the hallway hearing my thunderous commotion.

"Sakura?" Naruto called over my knocking, "Hey, what were you called in for?" He wondered but I ignored him as I continued to bang on Kakashi's door waiting for him to answer, I needed him to pull open this door and I had to see his masked face.

"She was called in?" Carver asked from behind me.

"Yeah." Naruto answered.

"Fuck this." I cursed feeling my chest tighten, feeling like a rocks has been stacked on top of my esophagus. I almost felt like I couldn't breathe, I took two steps back and kicked the door down with joyful ease.

"Whoa!?" Carver and Raiden shouted over the crunching sound of wood caving in.

"What in the frosty hell!?" Raiden gasped as I stepped into the apartment.

"Sakura, I know you have been pissed at him, but this is a whole new level!" Carver called, climbing over the broken pieces of wood.

"Yeah-" Raiden agreed, "-just cause he didn't text you back, doesn't mean you can kick the man's door down!"

"This is a red flag." Carver nodded, "We should have seen this, we should have been better friends-" I ignored their comments, running into his bedroom I finally laid my eyes on him.

"Call Tsunade!" I screamed, rushing to Kakashi's side as he laid on his bedroom floor uncontrollably convulsing.

"What did you say Sakura-what the fuck!?" Carver yelled as I lifted Kakashi to lay on his side.

"Call fucking Tsunade!" I screamed again, tears pressing against my eyes as I shook my head. My brain clamed up, I found myself clueless on what I was supposed to do next.

"They don't need to." Tsunade's hasty voice graced me as she moved to Kakashi's side across from where I had collapsed. "Sakura what happened?" Tsunade asked, I could only shake my head as more tears pressed to be freed. "Hey-" Tsunade touched the side of my face, "-how did you know to check on him, what caused this?"

"I didn't know." I breathed; my eyes filled to their brims with unwanted tears.

"You didn't know what?"

"She had a jutsu on him." I blinked; the tears fell down my face landing on his black mask.

"Who had a jutsu on him, what are you--Hanare?" Tsunade sucked in a cold breath,

"I released it-" I shook my head, staring down at Kakashi as he seized on the floor beside me. "-when I did, I got this feeling that he..." I wanted to reach out and hold him, tell him that everything was going to be fine but the glassy distant look in his eye told me he wasn't here inside this room with me right now.

"He is going to be fine." Tsunade touched my shoulder, "After his episode is over, we will get him to the hospital and run tests, ok?" I answered with a nod. "Carver, Raiden, get ready to lift Kakashi and run him as fast as you can to the hospital." Tsunade ordered,

"What is wrong with him!?" Naruto asked, sounding almost to be in pain. 

"Right now-" Tsunade's voice was strong and stable, "-we need to focus on getting him help, we will ask the questions after he is in the clear, understand?"

"Yes." Naruto nodded with Carver and Raiden.

\----

Kakashi laid inside a clean hospital bed, I sat beside him running my fingers through his soft hair feeling numbed inside my chest. It had been three hours since Kakashi had his seizure, he hasn't woken up since then. Carver and Raiden got him to the hospital in record time, and Tsunade made him Dr. Yu's main priority.

"Doesn't feel so good does it?" Carver smirked at my annoyed face. He leaned back in his chair his arms crossed over his chest. "Having to wait around for answers, wait to see if the person you love is going to be alright-"

"Really?" I asked, "Now is the time?" My voice was dry like Gaara's sand as I glared at Carver.

"We are just saying-" Raiden half smiled, "-stop almost dying because hospital's suck."

I looked up from staring at his masked face hearing the door to his private room open. Tsunade walked in, I glanced over at Naruto who appeared sickened as I braced to hear the worst.

"All the tests came back clear." Tsunade said, I breathed out a deep sigh of relief turning to look back at him.

"Now that we know this-" Itachi said standing beside Raiden and Hinata. "-can we please know what the fuck happened!?"

"Or how you knew he was in trouble?" Raiden added on.

"I..." I sighed, rubbing my tired face. "...when I first returned from the Reaper's control, I had these horrible headaches-"

"Mhm." Carver nodded.

"We remember." Tsunade agreed.

"-I had no control over my seal, when I used my eyes my head would feel like it was cracking open and so I didn't think anything of it when I came here."

"Well what changed?" Naruto asked as Hinata moved to comfortingly rubbed his back. My whole being wished for Kakashi to be standing behind me, softly rubbing circles on my back as leaned forward in this hard chair.

"I was in the interrogation room with Hanare-"

"Excuse me-" Carver held his arm up, "-what?"

"Why would you put that poor girl in-!?" Raiden went to defend a sweet girl that didn't exist.

"Hanare is a spy-" Tsunade quickly filled them in, "-for the Lock Village. Sakura was called in to try and break her because Inoichi couldn't."

"Well shit." Raiden breathed out rubbing his face, "This is some next level fuckery." He joked.

"I didn't plan on trying to use my eyes with Hanare because when I got here, I had another bitch of a migraine and I chopped it up to over using my seals but I soon realized after working her over, that Hanare couldn't be broken with simple physical pain. I would need to get inside her head so when I got my eyes to work-"

"You saw she had a jutsu active?" Raiden guessed.

"I did, I also realized that when I transport to the River or to the Sand village, I didn't get a migraine. It is only when I came here is when I was in pain."

"Why?" Hinata asked,

"Because of Hanare; my seals that I had placed on all of you, when I died it left a residue that I didn't know about. It acted as a protective barrier on Kakashi against Hanare's jutsu, that's why I had such terrible migraines because the closer I got to her or to Kakashi the more I felt her jutsu being used."

"So, we all still have like a permanent seal on us?" Naruto asked,

"From what I can tell, yes."

"And it was trying to signal to you, 'hey something ain't right here'?" Raiden guessed, I nodded looking back at Kakashi.

"I should have known something wasn't right." I shook my head.

"This is not on you." Tsunade said, "If anything this situation would be on all of us, we allowed Hanare into the village, we cleared her to live here and we told you she was good for him..."

"What kind of jutsu was she using anyway?" Carver asked.

"A cousin of the mind control technique." I answered,

"From my sharingan?" Itachi questioned.

"Yeah, how she got her hands on it I don't know-" I said.

"So, she controls Kakashi to what-?" Carver shrugged, "-leak information about our village?"

"Not quite." I answered, "She altered his memory and perception of reality."

"And in normal terms-" Raiden said, "-what the hell does all that mean?"

"It means-" I breathed, "-from the quick peak I had before cutting the jutsu off, she changed his reality. She made him fully believe she was the love of his life-"

"Hanare made Kakashi believe she, was you?" Raiden scoffed sounding appalled.

"In a sense." I muttered, "She broke his world into two different realities, one where I had died and the other where I was still living, she would replace me in his mind and that's how she did it."

"No wonder she kept him away from all of us." Itachi grinned his teeth together,

"And why he went missing from the public eye for months." Carver shook his head,

"We really dropped the ball on this one." Raiden held pained eyes as he looked at Kakashi.

"Yeah." Hinata agreed.

"When Kakashi wakes up-" Naruto mumbled, "-what will happen?"

"Yeah." Rained agreed wanting to know, "Will he be like his old self or...?"

"I don't know." I answered honestly as I gazed at him, I wanted to believe when he awoke, he would be the Kakashi I knew, he would still love me but... "I don't know how much the jutsu affected him, or if he really did care for Hanare."

"No way!" Naruto shook his head,

"When you returned-" Carver leaned forward, his elbows rested on his knees. "-that was when he really became shut in with that girl. You being around must have been messing with the jutsu which is why you were in so much pain and why Hanare basically locked him away."

"Possibly." I sighed,

"We won't know until he wakes up--Sakura where are you going?" Tsunade asked as I stood from the chair, I felt the sinister smile crept onto my face. Naruto took a step back as his face twisted, most likely recalling our encounter inside the waterfall village when Kaguya stole my memory.

"I have a date." I grinned at Tsunade,

"I don't think you being alone with Hanare is a good idea right now." Itachi commented, blocking me from the door.

"Oh, I wasn't asking." I breathed, "Move, before I move you."

"Sakura, your angry."

"No-" I breathed turning towards Tsunade "I'm fucking infuriated, you called me here for a job now let me fucking do it." Tsunade closed her eyes for a moment before nodding.

"I trust you." Tsunade said,

"Wh-What!?" Itachi gasped, looking around the room holding his arms out.

"Move Itachi." Tsunade ordered,

"But-" Itachi went to argue.

"Are you really going to question my authority?" Tsunade challenged, "You are the main reason none of us battened an eye towards Hanare and her relationship with Kakashi, you gave her the green light because why-?" Tsunade stepped closer, "-did you simply rush your judgement and seen what you wanted to see so you could get Sakura over Kakashi so you could move-"

"No!" Itachi rose his voice, cutting Tsunade off. "I...I really thought she was..." Itachi looked away appearing to be ashamed.

I felt bad for him but I didn't have the time to care about his feelings or have the the time to comfort a friend. I turned on my heel spinning around, taking one last look at Kakashi as I exited the room. 

Fire ignited inside my body, threatening to spill over and engulf my being, and I welcomed the sensation with wide open arms as marching my way back down the tunnels where my new chew toy was being kept.


	13. Chapter 13

P.O.V. Sakura Haruno

I passed the same guard I had threatened, he quickly stood upright seeing my darkened face. I moved right past him through the old metal door, to his joy without giving so much as a glance in his direction.

Hanare still remained where I had left her, still grasping out for breaths due to being crushed between the metal chair she was strapped in and the table.

Good.

I summoned chakra ropes, wrapping them around her body I heard her gasp as she was realizing I had returned. After my blue ropes wrapped around her body, draining all her chakra from her reach rendering her weakened I pulled the leather binds from her right arm, dropped her hand freely onto the table.

"Is he alive-?"

"I-" I cut her off as I felt the darkened twisty side of me that I kept locked away stir awake, "-am going to make that 'Honest Room' look like child's play." I breathed glaring into her eyes.

"I can take whatever you throw at me." She bit at the air,

"Are you sure about that?" I questioned as I raised the large cleaver I previously taken from the table.

"Ye-" Hanare rolled her head but before she could spit in my direction, I brought the cleaver down onto her fingers. Hanare screamed as she stared with wide eyes at her three middle fingers getting scraped away off the table.

"Are you attached to your hands?" I questioned, roughly gripping her face to bring her shocked expression to look into my swirling eyes. "There is no one inside that room-" I gestured to the window, "-it's just you and me here."

"So, what-"

"Ibiki and Inoichi are not here to save you." I crumbled her situation own her throat as my eyes ignited into their diamond wreaths, I began to weasel my way through her head as I did the same to her left hand, I unwrapped and let it drop onto the table, I knew her body was completely paralyzed, she couldn't run nor fight me. She was the best kind of pray.

I didn't move to stop the monster that I was from coming out, I slammed the cleaver down as Hanare screamed as I shouted for her to talk. Kakashi's image of seizing out on his bedroom floor was scorched through my head, replaying repeatedly as I felt more anger bubble from within my belly. I wanted to be with him right now, not with this scum. I grabbed Ibiki's blow torch, it was small and fit almost perfectly in my hand as I cauterized her bleeding hands. I didn't need her bleeding out on me...just yet.

I snacked a lighting jutsu, shooting it through Hanare's body before throwing the damp towel over her face, kicking her back against the wall and drowned her. I felt the sickening smile on my lips as I allowed myself to enjoy breaking her arm and feeling her femur shatter beneath my fingers, I never felt so satisfied.

Hanare's torso bolted to the left, her stomach convulsed as she dries heaved stomach bile onto the floor.

"Don't go breaking on me just yet-" I called, "-the fun is just getting started." Hanare turned, yellowish substance dripped down her chin as her eyes locked onto me.

\----

I dragged up a chair to sit in front of Hanare who I had strung up by her arms with chains, her bare toes barely brushed the ground. This girl had to be reaching her wits end by now, she was left wearing sports and her shorts bra. She had multiple lacerations running along her skin, they leaked blood causing a small puddle to begin to form under her feet.

I smiled, seeing Hanare had flinched when I moved to sit.

"So, are you ready to begin?" I asked,

"Wh-What?" She gasped out; blood dripped from between her lips.

"This is me just fucking around." I smiled,

"You-Your enjoying this."

"Your damn right I am."

"Yo-You're a monster."

"Oh honey-" I grinned, "-you have no idea, but you can't sit there on your high horse and lecture me. Your no better than I am."

"I am not a beast like you!" Hanare cried.

"How not?" I tilted my head, having gone through much of her memory. I caught Hanare's gaze, dipping her into a much different, much darker place than the one she sat inside. This was my favorite kind of manipulation; the real world was so restricting.

I set up Hanare in a pitch-black pin, every time the naive girl closed her eyes she would be pillared into a different and new horrid torture technique. While she was hanging from her arms much like she was in the real world, a creature I conjured up stood before her wearing a blackened rope almost blending into the surrounding space except for its face, its twisted and pale face froze Hanare's blood and had tears pressed against her eyes.

As I learned more about the Lock Village through Hanare's knowledge, the stupid girl closed her eyes. I looked over seeing the scenario had morphed away from the bleak room to her being thrown on a stained mattress, wires wrapped around her arms and legs as she felt herself being electrocuted. The creatures with a plate face moved towards Hanare, she screamed scrambling to get away from it, he placed a jar upon her stomach with a large sewer rat placed inside.

Hanare whimpered at the feel of the anxious animal, time inside Hanare's head sped up, the more time that passed the angrier and hungrier the rat became. Soon it began to dig at the exposed flesh of her smooth stomach as its attempt to be freed. The rat would bite and claw its way through Hanare's abdominal cavity ripping apart her internal organs until it reached the other side breaking to sweet freedom.

This method always turned even my stomach; this was an old method but that didn't stop Kaguya from using it on me.

Hanare screamed bloody murder, she shut her eyes, but the girl was smart and caught on quickly I will give her that. Hanare refused to open her eyes as tears poured down her face like an open faucet. After a couple seconds, the creature reached out with its cold bony fingers, digging around Hanare's eye until it got a grip on her eyelids.

It pulled them outward as it raised a pair of rusted scissors, slowly cutting away the thin skin tissue. Hanare finally begged for it to stop, but the creature quickly wrapped a plastic bag around her head and began to suffocate her. Hanare's fingers desperately scratched at the creature's hands around the bag trying to break free but was enviably going to fail.

I broke the hold I had over Hanare, allowing her to come stumbling back inside her own head as I deactivated my eyes and let out a deep sigh. Hanare looked around at all points of the room, until her eyes landed on me. Her eyes were large like a coin, her lips parted as she unsuccessfully tried to pull in breaths to her empty lungs.

"Breathe." I said leaning back in my chair, I heard her take in a deep breath and to my surprise she let out an ear-piercing scream. I blinked, rubbing my left ringing ear as she screamed her throat raw.

"Girls got a set of pipes on her." I glanced over seeing Carver and Tsunade walking into the room. 

"Welcome to the show." I said holding my arms out.

"What did you do-?" Tsunade breathed studying my work.

"My job." I answered getting up and moving towards them. "How is Ka-"

"Monster!" Hanare stretched causing me to turn around.

"Do you want me to start again?" I asked her, "I haven't even begun to show you what I can really do."

"Sakura-" Tsunade breathed pulling my eyes back onto her. "Did you find anything-"

"You will burn!" Hanare interrupted, "You and this ragged village all come crumbing down."

"Maybe." I said, moving closer to her, "But you won't be around to see it."

"I will kill you." Hanare glared at me,

"That's what they all say." I replied leaning closer to her. "But I must say, your little jutsu was nice."

"Huh?" Carver blinked believing I was talking about the one she placed on Kakashi.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Hanare sneered her teeth at me.

"Yeah." I nodded, "Go ahead and bare your teeth at me, I'll rip those out one by one just like I did with her fingers."

"Sakura?" Carver called, "What is going on?"

"You can't do the trade with the Lock Village." I began to explain.

"Why not!?" Tsunade breathed, "They have-"

"Hanare knows everything about the Leaf." I said, "She knows about the tunnels underground, she knows the entry and the exit points, she knows the guard rotations, she knows everything about you."

"What?" Carver gasped, "How? Kakashi only knew so much-"

"She didn't learn what she knows through Kakashi, he was just a pawn in her little game."

"I don't understand-" Tsuande shook her head,

"Hanare here has a fun loving jutsu, its rare and I barely even caught onto it but her jutsu allows her to look into her own mind-" Hanare's eyes widened, causing me to believe it hit the nail on the head with this one.

"Who the fuck would want to look into their own head?" Carver crossed his arms over his chest, "That doesn't make any sense."

"It wouldn't-" I agreed, "-but when someone else is trying to rampage through your mind, the jutsu then allows her to see into the mind of whoever is playing tag inside her head." I looked over at Hanare, "Isn't that right?"

"What does all this mean?" Tsunade questioned,

"Inoichi-" I said, "-that is where she got all her info from."

"That's insane!" Tsunade breathed running her hands through her hair, "He would never allow any information to leak-"

"He didn't know." I said, "Which is why he was so dead set on Hanare and saying something was off about her, because she went through his mind without him knowing and that leaves an annoying little itch inside the persons head."

"Wow." Carver blinked, taking all this in.

"You wanted to be caught." I went on turning to Hanare, "You knew you would learn nothing from the villagers, especially from Kakashi so you waited until you were discovered. You are highly trained in this field, which is another reason why Inoichi couldn't break you, you got your ass cut up and handed to you before breakfast every day."

"Does that mean she got inside your head?" Carver asked me.

"No." I answered, "You couldn't, there is no chance in hell I would ever let something like you read my mind."

"But why do all of this?" Tsunade asked, "What was the end game?"

"This is how her village works." I said, "I didn't think much of the Lock Village, they left me alone, so I gave them the same courtesy."

"What do you mean?" Carver asked, "How does the Lock Village work?"

"We thought they were strong and shouldn't be messed with." I turned to them, "But that isn't the case, the Lock Village's is weak. They don't have the manpower to be a real threat against villages like the Waterfall or Leaf, so they did the next best thing, they send out little worms like Hanare here to gather dirt on the other villages. Then they use the stolen Intel against them in blackmail or to get the upper hand."

"I can't..." Tsunade shook her head, "...believe any of this."

"Your village is pathetic." I said to Hanare, "You all should have been extinguished out years ago, but since you left me alone, I never set my sights on you until now."

"My Village will-"

"You don't know what your village will do." I cut her off, "You never even stepped foot inside the Lock Village. This was their way of training spies, if they were to ever be caught then there would be no detail to find on them."

"What do we do now?" Carver asked,

"For starters-" Tsunade sighed, "-lock her up."

"I'll escort her." Carver offered moving to unchain Hanare, I watched with sharpen eyes as Carver wrapped an arm around her and practically dragged Hanare with him out of the room.

"So, everything with Ka-" Tsunade went to say.

"There's more." I rashly cut her off once we were alone in the room.

"M-More!?" Tsunade gasped, "What more could they possibly be!?"

"The Lock Village-" I said, "-from the small bits I gathered from Hanare, they are working with the Sky Village."

"What!?" Tsunade breathed,

"Yeah." I said, "I don't know why or for what but if we have a super charged village that can fucking fly and another village living in the dirt collecting Intel on all the big villages than-"

"Only trouble can brew from this." Tsunade breathed, sitting down in a free chair that wasn't splattered with blood.

"Yeah." I agreed as Tsunade leaned against the arm rest, her forehead being held up by her hand her hair covered her face, but I could see the tension inside her shoulders, this stress couldn't be good for Tsunade or the baby.

"What are we going to do?" Tsunade breathed to herself, lightly sniffing I looked over seeing she had tears falling from her eyes.

"There something I don't know?" I asked as my heart strangely clinched seeing the tears in her amber eyes.

This was the woman who banished me, she uprooted my entire life and threw me into the dark where the wolfs were hungrily waiting and yet...all I wanted to do was stop her eyes from tearing up.

"You must be hungry-" Tsunade said wiping her left eye as she faked a smile, "-and you must want to check on Kakashi, come on." She said leading me out from the room.

"Are you going to tell me what has you so tense or do I have to play investigator?" I asked as we quietly walked through the screaming halls where the damned resided.

"No-" Tsunade lightly chuckled, "-you don't have to do that it's just..."

"It's what?"

"In the last attack on the village, we lost both our chief of the regular forces and the head of the black ops and I have been running back and forth trying to keep the village together but I am dropping balls left and right and running in circles and I-"

As Tsunade rambled on, I saw the stress weighing her down. I noticed the dark circles under her eyes as she fakes a heavy smile within her pale lips.

"Have you decided who you're going to replace them with?" I questioned; curiosity having gotten the best of me.

"No-" Tsunade heaved, "-don't get me wrong, there are so many fantastic shinobi inside this village but I'm just not sure which ones could properly stand to help lead and protect this village."

"Careful now-" That same annoying little voice giggled in the back of my head, I rolled my eyes hearing Alethea; my lazy jinchuriki stir awake. "-you might burn for this village."

"I'm worried that I'll put the wrong person and charge, and I feel like I have done enough damage to this villages name because of what I did to you so I just have so much anxiety-" Listening and watching Tsunade's facial expressions, I believed her. I fully believed she regretted what she had done, and I forgave her banishing me.

I licked my lips pulling my eyes to stare at the cave floor, it was coated in moisture from the high humidity. Inside my chest I felt a consuming warmth wrapped around my heart.

Dawn was right, I would burn for this village but in return they could clean my hands, purify all my stains...I wanted to burn for them...

"I could combine the two roles and only have one job to worry about filing but then who would I place in charge? Who would want to be responsible for every shinobi inside this village-" Tsunade rambled to herself.

"Me." The word slid so effortlessly off my tongue, tasting sweet.

"What?" Tsunade blinked, she stopped walking.

"I'll do it." I repeated.

"I-You-You're the...you...what!?" Tsunade wheezed.

"I said-"

"No, I heard what you said but I can't let you do something like this. Sakura, you built the Waterfall Village from nothing. You made their name, I...you-you are their Commander, how could you just walk away from that?"

"I am not their Commander." I simply answered, "Dawn rightly took my title, she has done a fantastic job at keeping the village running these past years. It wouldn't be right for me to step over her and take back the throne, it's her turn to make her own name for herself."

"I-I just don't want you to do something you'll end up regretting." Tsunade shook her head, almost appearing like she couldn't believe this moment was real life. "You were so adamant on not being the next Hokage that I didn't expect you to-"

"I won't be." I said, "I don't want to be the next Hokage-"

"But-"

"Tsunade-" I sighed, "-Kaguya trained me to be a soldier, a war machine-" Tsunade's mouth opened to object but I quickly continued, "-and I am fine with that. It took me a long time to accept what I had turned into and as crazy as it may sound, I like who I am. I know I can lead this village with the strength I gained while under Kaguya. I can take on this villages symbol and I can lead you all with pride, but to do that I'm no good sitting behind a desk."

"Sakura-"

"I am best on the front lines." I said, not giving her room to speak. "That is how I can best do my job. If I knew this village wouldn't be ok without me as Hokage I would never turn down the job." 

"You're always looking out for us."

"I am." I nodded with a smile blooming along my face.

"I-I can't-!" Tsunade sputtered with a quick shake of her head, "-I can't ask you to do this!"

"You're not asking-" I replied, "-I'm offering." Tsunade took the last few steps getting into my personal bubble, she placed her hand on my forehead making me chuckle.

"Are you feeling ok?" Tsunade questioned searching my eyes, "Did using your eyes tried you out and that's why your-"

"Tsunade-" I said with a smile on my face and a lightened heart. "-this is the best I have felt in a long time."

"Are-Are you sure?" Tsunade sounded so unsure of herself.

"I wouldn't be offering if I wasn't absolutely sure, but I do want an office." I half joked.

"Yes-" Tsunade laughed, leaning forward. "-you will get an office."

"With like walls and stuff-" I added as Tsunade tightly hugged me,

"Yes!" Tsunade agreed, "Thank you Sakura, thank you so much! Oh my gosh, there is so much to do now! I have to get your paperwork started, I need to find an office for you, we have to get you sworn into the village and I-"

"Breathe." I said lighting gripping her forearm. "That can all be done in due time, but right now we have to make plans on getting Riichi back from the Lock Village."

"You have a plan?" Tsunade looked at me as if I held all the answers of the universe within my grasp, Why did I have an aching feeling this was going to come back and bite me in the ass?

"I always do." I shrugged.

"This is perfect!" Tsunade bounced, "I can announce you as our Commander during the same meeting I announce my apprentice!"

"You picked an apprentice to become the next Hokage?" I questioned.

"I did." Tsuande looked so proud of herself.

"Who is it?" I wondered.


	14. Chapter 14

P.O.V. Sakura Haruno

"You have to go to the Waterfall Village?" Tsunade's confused voice reflected around my head as I stepped onto the old wooden porch of my house; we stood standing outside Kakashi's hospital room when he finally awoke. "But why?" I placed my hand on the doorknob of the only place that has offered me any type of comfort in the years I had been banished from the leaf village.

I shook my head willing the wayward thoughts to crawl far from within my reach just for a few hours, but I knew they would bootlessly remain pressed against my thoughts.

"There are a few things I have to do there before I can walk away." I gave Tsunade an answer before leaving to return to the village I raised from the chard ashes of Purgatory.

I took in a cooling deep breath as I pushed open the oak door, leading me right into my living room. There I saw the people I had called and requested to be home when I returned.

"Sakura!" Annistyn smiled seeing me standing in the doorway watching the large group that consisted of Dawn, Diem, Annistyn and the six returned members of the Nine who was my former team before they all were thought to be supposedly killed by the hands of reapers.

"Close the door!" Finn called waving his hands filled with sugary snacks, "Your letting all the bugs in!" A simple smile cracked along my lips as I did as requested.

"Where have you been?" Dawn immediately went to questioning my whereabouts.

"Yeah." Diem agreed, looking just as curious to know where I have been lurking the past day and a half.

"Screw that-" Piper said over the mixture of hyper voices, "-why did you call us all here?" She asked with an annoyed shake of her bright red hair. "I have a date in a couple hours, and I would like to be ready for it."

"You-?" I scoffed moving into the house, "-on a date?"

"Right!?" Lance belted out a hearty laughed, "Who in their right fucking mind would willingly-?!" Piper snapped her eyes onto Lance as she threw her hairbrush, striking him against the right side of his skull. "-Ow!? What the hell is your-?!"

"I am a charming, smart and beautiful woman!" Piper glared into him, "I am a catch! I am a snack, no, fuck that I am the whole damn entrée!"

"Yeah if by entrée you mean a frozen TV dinner." Diem muttered to himself with a quick eye roll.

"Did you say something!?" Piper snapped her wild fueled glare onto him, but Diem being well...Diem he sat upright and locked eyes with her.

"I said-" He clucked his tongue, "-your more of a TV dinner than a fucking entrée."

"What the hell does that mean!?" Piper screeched ringing my eardrums.

"It means you never look anything like your damn picture, your done in about five minutes and your just barely satisfying enough to be wanted again if desperate-"

"Alright-!" I called stepping in between the two as they jumped from the couch, claws at the ready. "-this is not why I called everyone here."

"Then why did you call this jackass here?!" Piper snapped never prying her eyes from Diem's tight face.

"Excuse me?!" Diem laughed, "Who the hell are you to say shit to me?! While I have been here helping Dawn keep this village running you have been whoring around fucking every guy that looks your way!"

"I'm going to kill you!" Piper growled moving to strike him, but I caught her arm.

"No-" I said, "-you are not." I finished as I pushed her back against the couch, "And you-" I turned to Diem, "-stop instigating her."

"I was not-!" Diem went to defend himself.

"Sit." I ordered, Diem puffed but did as told and went back to sitting in his worn in place on the couch.

"Thank you." Dawn breathed rubbing her temple, "They have been at each other's throats for hours."

"So-!" Lance called slouching back in his chair, "-don't get me wrong, I love watching the show every time we all come together but why are we all here again?"

"Yeah-" Finn agreed, "-and why isn't Carver and Raiden here?"

"Because they have nothing to do with this conversation." I answered, "They don't even know yet-"

"Know what?" Diem asked, "Are you pregnant?"

"Why is that your go to for everything?" Dawn sighed shaking her head. 

"What?" Diem raised his hands up, "It could happen!"

"How?" Octavia laughed, "Sakura doesn't like people-"

"But she is a grown woman-" Diem waved at me, "-and have you seen her?! If she wanted that itch scratched, she wouldn't need to go far-"

"I am sure she wouldn't-" Piper muttered, "-Itachi would be here in five seconds if he-"

"Alright!" I growled out annoyed, questioning my life choices. "Everyone shut up or I will tie you all together again!"

"No!" Finn cried, "That was horrible!"

"What did you do to them?" Annistyn wondered looking around at all the panic-stricken expressions.

"No one could get along when we all got placed on a team together-" Amethyst filled Annistyn in, "-so Sakura tied us all together with her chakra ropes until we could get along."

"That's funny!" Annistyn giggled,

"It was not!" Amethyst shuttered at her memory of the event. "It was a dreadful time."

"Tell us why we are all here already!" Percy snapped looking up from his phone, "I have shit to do!"

"Yeah!" Annistyn and others agreed, I took in a deep breath as everyone settled down, I looked at all the faces that stared at me.

"The last day or so-" I started not really knowing how to say what needed to be said, "-I have been inside the Leaf Village-"

"Surprise-Surprise." Dawn looked at me with vexation as she crossed her arms over her chest, leaning against the couches back rest.

I chose to ignore her.

"-a spy from the Lock Village had been living inside their village collecting Intel on them, they needed me to break her." I completed my sentence.

"The Lock Village?" Dawn turned her interest peaked, "What the hell?"

"Yeah." I breathed, running my tongue over my lips. "Turns out they are not so meek like we were led to believe."

"So, what does this mean?" Diem questioned, "Are we going after them or...?"

"Uh-" I sighed; "-I haven't decided yet."

"Really?" Diem blinked astonished, "Why is that?"

"Because..."

"Has Tsunade been bugging you about taking over their Hokage position?" Dawn snapped reading my hesitated face. "That bitch-! She knows you just returned, and you need more time to-"

"She didn't hound me about the Hokage position-" I cut Dawn off, "-but I did-" It felt like all the air was being sucked out from the room, why did I feel so uneasy? "-offer to take over as their Commander."

"Wha..." Diem's lip's parted as his mind flat-lined.

"You did-" Dawn slightly chuckled, "-you did what now?" Her tone was incensed as she rose to her feet.

"You accepted a title inside the Leaf Village!?" Diem bounced back quickly as he pounced to his feet. "What the fuck Haruno!? We have been after you to take over as Commander here, you don't need to relocate-"

"I know." I said.

"You know?" Diem repeated my words, "You know what!?"

"That Dawn wishes to step down for me to take her place, but I don't want her to-"

"Who the fuck are you to tell me what to do!?" Dawn spat, "I am a grown woman; I can make my own decisions and I told you I wanted to step down for-"

"If you'll stop cutting me off and let me finish a sentence-" My tone began to seethe.

"Let you finish a sentence!?" Dawn laughed throwing her arms up, "What else do you have to say!? Why the fuck would you do this!?"

"I am so confused." Finn blinked.

"I understood-" Dawn breathed, "-that you were tired, you died and came back. The fact you didn't want to step back into being Commander I sucked it up and let you do your own thing-"

"This is your village-" Diem cut Dawn off, "-your home, you built this place and your standing there telling me you'd rather go over to that two-star village instead of retake leadership here-!?" 

"Ok-" I snapped feeling an apoplectic flush sputter along my chest, breaking my white skin out into red patches as I normally did when I became incensed. "-I may no longer be the Commander of this village but don't forget who your fucking talking to, I will put you through that damn wall!"

"Why!?" Diem didn't back down, "Because I insulted that half-baked village-"

"Diem." I warned,

"Wow!" He laughed, "How the mighty have fallen."

"You can't do this!" Dawn shouted over our voices,

"First of all, I can do whatever the hell I want-" I replied, "-and it isn't like I am going to fall off the face of the earth, I will still be around-"

"Wait, you'll be living inside that village!?"

"Uh...yeah?" I said tilting my head, "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Sakura-" Annistyn got up from sitting on the floor, "Are you really going to leave and live in another village?" I turned to Annistyn, the look of sorrowful hurt inside her eyes made my heart clinch.

"I want you to come with me-" I began to say to her,

"Oh, hell no!" Dawn stepped in between Annistyn and I. "You're not taking Annistyn out of this village!"

"You don't get to speak for her, you're not her mother-" I snapped,

"Neither are you." Dawn cracked, dead silence filled the air around us as Dawn and I stared at each other.

"I know I'm not." I replied, "But I promised her mother I would do everything in my power to protect her-"

"So, running off towards another village and leaving Annistyn alone is what Isadora had in mind!?"

"I didn't want to die!" I shouted at Dawn, trying to pry my way into her head, "I didn't plan on losing my life and being used as a fucking chew toy for two years. But I did and I am not going to stand here and say I died solely bringing down the Reapers because I didn't, I wanted to save Tsunade and Naruto-"

"They abandoned you-!" Dawn breathed, "-how could you want-"

"Because I do-!" I snapped, "-I don't know why, and I don't care but I would die for them again."

"Do you really love them more than-"

"This isn't some contest!" I yelled at her, "Where I live isn't some trophy for you to flaunt. I did my job, I raised you to be the solider you are, and I'm shouldn't have to apologize for doing what I want after returning from being killed. I did what I set out to do, the Reapers are gone, and the Waterfall Village is still standing strong and can still stand without me-"

"I don't want to lead this fucking village!" Dawn snapped, "Why the hell would I want to willingly live inside this hell-"

"What the fuck does that mean?" I snapped feeling offended. 

"It means this village is a fucking horrible place-"

"Then change it!" I said, "I handed you an already assembled village, all you had to do was not break it. If you don't like it than get off your ass and do something about it, I'm not going to always be around to hold your fucking hand and I thought you knew that since I was already killed!"

"I don't want to be here if you're not the Commander." Diem said, "You're the entire reason I put up with this shit."

"Then leave." I said, "I'm not forcing you to stay here. I trained you all, if you want to flap out of the nest than go ahead. I will find someone to lead this village but don't look at me as if I am the reason you're here because I shouldn't be. This is your life not mine; you do what you need to, and I'll do the same-"

"But-" Finn muttered; "-I wanted us all to be together."

"I know for a fact that you won't be happy in a village like the Leaf-" I said looking into his large color filled eyes. "-you want fast pace, up all night with a party around every corner and that isn't this village."

"Then why are you going there?"

"Because it's my home." I shrugged, the answer was so simple. 

"They turned their back on you once-" Dawn said, "-what's to say they won't do it again?"

"I don't." I said honestly, "I won't know unless I give it a shot, but I know I am not happy here and I led this village for years and I trained inside the training grounds for so long. I did everything this village needed even if that meant doing everything I didn't want to. I am tired and now it's my turn to do what I want."

"But..."

"It's not like I am going to be gone." I smiled at Finn, "I'm only one call away, I can use my seals and be with you in a second."

"It won't be the same." Finn sighed, I weakly smiled at him.

"Change is hard." I found words to use but the truth was...I didn't love these people like I used too. I buried the Nine, pieces of my mind still didn't accept the fact they were alive and standing beside me. Dawn and Diem...I know now they would be ok without me. "I am proud of you all." I said, "We have come a long way." I laughed as tears filled my eyes.

"Yeah." Finn nodded getting up from his seat and pulled me into a hug. "We really have."

"Annistyn-" I breathed looking past Dawn, "-I'm not expecting you to uplift your life right here and now, think it over and give me a call. If you want to stay here inside the waterfall, I will understand." Annistyn slowly nodded her head but still looked so unsure of what to do. "But I have to go-"

"If you leave-" Dawn said, her face hard like concrete as she looked into my eyes. "-don't come back."

"That's how you want to play this?" I questioned her. "You would rather I forcefully stay inside a village-"

"You made this village!" Dawn snapped.

"I am not the person I was when I built this village." I said,

"I'll say." Dawn darkly laughed looking at me up and down.

"Careful which bridges you burn." I warned her.

"I know." Dawn nodded, "You taught me that, didn't you say you have to rush off and playhouse?"

"Dawn-" Diem and I said, 

"I mean it." Dawn announced to the room, "If you leave Sakura, you will not be welcomed back, my soldiers will shoot to kill if your spotted anywhere near here."

"Careful what you wish for." I warned as wind collected around my body, I glanced over to Annistyn and smiled before shooting her a wink as I was completely engulfed inside a dome of refreshing wind and whipped away from the waterfall village. 

\----

P.O.V. Change: Naruto Uzumaki

I yawned, sitting up on my bed as I stretched my arms over my head. I groaned, falling back onto the mattress as another yawn placed itself on my lips. I blinked my heavy eyes trying to stir my sludgy brain awake.

"Good morning." Hinata smiled, lying beside me.

"Morning." I replied, moving onto my side as I pulled her into my arms. "How long have you been awake?"

"Not long, I just woke up." Hinata giggled as I kissed her neck.

"Mm..." I hummed feeling myself began to fall back asleep feeling her warm body against mine.

"We have to get up-" Hinata reminded me, "-we are going to be late for Lady Tsunade's meeting."

"Ugh!" I groaned rolling onto my back, "She is so old and pregnant, how can she even get up this early!?"

"She is the Hokage-"

"I know!" I sighed as I scratched my chest.

"I'm going to take a shower." Hinata rubbing her eyes, "We can't be late, you know how mad she gets when shinobi stroll in tarty."

"Yeah..." I sighed slowly sitting up, "...she is a monster. Do you even know why she is so adamant on everyone being at this meeting?" I wondered.

"No one knows." Hinata shrugged getting up from our bed, "I asked around and not one person I talked to has a clue why she called this village wide meeting. She even pulled guard duty from the gates; the black ops will be taking it over today while we are all there."

"I wonder what drama will unfold today." I sighed as Hinata nodded in agreement before headed to the bathroom. My stomach grumbled giving me all the reasons to get up, I stumbled into the kitchen still half asleep.

"Ugh!" I gagged as a fowl smelling odor hit my nose, I looked around holding my breath. What in the hell is that!? "Oh, the trash..." I muttered to myself, I was supposed to take it out last night, but I forgot too.

I sheepishly smiled remembering why I had gotten distracted, Hinata was changing clothes and well one thing led to another and the trash was never taken out. I sighed loudly annoyed with early morning chores as I pulled my trash out of the plastic can, I started the stupid long process of taking out the trash.

I walked out of the apartment, down the hallway and rode the elevator down, once outside the sun felt like it hounded in on me and eminently began to beat down on me, making me sweat. I quickly ditched the trash in the dumpster and moved back into the air-conditioned building.

"Hey!" I looked over my shoulder before opening my door. "Surprised to see your awake this early!" Raiden laughed.

"Yeah." I agreed with a sigh, "What are you doing up?"

"I am actually just getting home."

"Oh, that's right you had to stand watch last night."

"Yeah." Raiden sighed throwing his head back being his dramatic self. "Now I have to stay up for this damn meeting."

"Do you know what it's about?"

"Not a clue." Raiden shrugged, "I tried asking around and got babkas. You?"

"Same." I said, "Hinata tried too."

"Have you tried talking to Kakashi?" Raiden asked crossing his arms over his chest, glancing at his apartment door. "I heard he woke up?"

"Yeah." I nodded, "He did."

"Is he..." Raiden trailed off.

"From what Granny said-" I shifted feet; "-he is good."

"Just...good?"

"Yeah." I nodded, "Kakashi's memory is intact, he was confused at first when he first woke up, but it all came back to him. I think we got lucky and the jutsu on him didn't mess him up to bad." 

"What did he say about Hanare?"

"Not much..." I recalled Kakashi confused stare as her name was mentioned. "...he knew of her, but he didn't seem to really know who she was...it was weird, and when he was told he was in a relationship with her that seemed to upset him. Then his blood pressure spiked and Tsunade made me leave as she tried to calm him down."

"Sakura did say Hanare's jutsu altered his perception of reality." Raiden shrugged, "Does Kakashi even know Sakura is alive?"

"Yes." I answered, "I might have said something to him and that is why he got so worked up..."

"I have a feeling shit it going to get weird." Raiden said, I nodded in agreement. "Well-!" He clapped his hands, "-I am going to take a shower and inhale some food before this damn thing, meet up before the meeting? We can all walk and sit together?"

"Sure." I smiled as we went into our separate homes.

\----

"Wow!" I laughed as I took an open seat in the second to first row. "It looks like the entire village is here!" I gushed seeing how packed the arena was, Kiba had saved us seats.

"Thanks man!" Carver said plopping down beside him as I took a seat beside Sasuke with Hinata to my right.

"No problem!" Kiba blushed as he laughed, Raiden sat a large plastic bag in his lap filled with snacks and drinks.

"Damn." Sasuke breathed, pulling on his shirt. "It's really hot."

"At least we don't have to be on guard duty tonight in this heat!" I smiled making Hinata giggle, I looked past Hinata seeing TenTen and Neji who were holding hands! I tapped Hinata on the shoulder, leaned in and whispered: "When did that happen?"

"A couple days ago." Hinata grinned, "TenTen has been over the moon all week!" I glanced back at Neji, in my eyes Neji was in a lot of different ways like Sakura. He never expressed his emotions and when he did it felt like magic, my eyes pooled into my lap feeling a wave of sadness. 

I missed Sakura...

"Woo!" I looked over and laughed, seeing Guy and Lee in the first row jumping up and down looking so excited. I wondered if Guy knew why we were all collected like this. I glanced around at the loaded seats, Kakashi was nowhere to be seen. Maybe Tsunade allowed him to skip this meeting since he just got out of the hospital today.

"There's Lady Tsunade!" Voice cheered making me turn my focus from my racing brain towards the ground floor of the arena where a stage had been assembled. In front of that stage were rows of metal chairs, there sat the senseis who held the most seniority along with members of the council. I brushed over the group; my eyes slammed to a halt seeing the familiar silver hair. I grinned wide seeing Kakashi was here!

"Hello-!" Tsunade spoke on stage through a microphone through the cheering and applause. "-I am sure most of you want this meeting to get over with so you can go and enjoy your night off!" I laughed because she was right! "So, I won't delay you any longer. As most of you are aware of, I have decided to begin the process of stepping down from Hokage of this village-" Sad cries and 'boos' echoed through the arena. "-yes, I know, how will you all go on?"

"This taste funny." Raiden muffled looking at the half-unwrapped cupcake in his hand.

"Then don't eat it." Carver said beside him.

"But-" Raiden blinked, "-that's a waste of food."

"It might be expired."

"So?"

"It could make you sick."

"But I don't want to throw it away." Raiden muttered glaring at the baked sweet in his hand. "That's a waste of food."

"It will make you sick-" Carver said trying to take the goodie from Raiden, but he successfully kept it away.

"No!" Raiden whined, "It's mine!"

"It will kill you!"

"You don't know that!"

"Neither do you! Now give it to me-"

"No! What doesn't kill me makes me stronger!" Raiden sang.

"Fine!" Carver huffed after getting a round of hushed tones telling them to quiet down. "When your shitting your brains out tonight, do not call me-"

"Why would I call you for that?" Raiden wondered.

"I don't know-!" Carver snapped, "-for toilet paper, I hope you run out mid wipe."

"Your being ugly and that doesn't look good on you-"

"Shut up!" TenTen hushed towards the two shinobi beside me, I smiled watching them puff air from their lungs but settled down as Raiden continued to eat the cupcake.

"When I took over Hokage for this beautiful village, I won't lie...I had no clue what to do and I didn't have any guidance. So, to give the next Hokage an upper hand in leading this village into the future I have decided to start a new tradition. An apprentice will be chosen to shadow me for one year, that person will learn how to manage and lead this village until the time I see fit for them to take over as Hokage."

"I think this is smart." Kiba said kicking his feet up on the chair in front of him.

"Yeah." TenTen agreed, "Randomly throwing in a person and expecting them to just know how to be the leader of our village is kind of dumb, this could be really good for our village."

"Yeah." Hinata nodded.

"Without further ado-" Tsunade smiled, "-I give you the next in line for Hokage of the Leaf Village, Kakashi Hatake!" I don't know what happened first, my mouth dropping to the floor or my legs pulling me to my feet.

"What!?" I gasped.

"Well-" Raiden said, "-that was unexpected."

"I thought Kakashi didn't want to be a Hokage." Kiba said with a hard piece of candy rolling around inside his mouth.

"He-He didn't!" I breathed, my heart having sunken into the bottom stomach. 

I was hoping to hear my name be called out...

"Maybe Hanare's jutsu did mess with him?" Carver shrugged.

"I think he will be fantastic leader of this village." Raiden grinned.

"Yeah-" I sighed, turning back to the stage as Kakashi rose against the waves of applause and cheering. "-of course, he will be." Kakashi stood beside Tsunade on her right as she continued to speak. I couldn't deny the pride I felt for my sensei, I knew Kakashi would be a great Hokage but underneath the joy I felt for him I still felt a gritty disappointment settling in. 

"There is one more announcement I must make before you all are excused-" Tsunade quickly said, "-I don't want Kakashi's thunder here to be stolen but this cannot wait-"

"Hm?" Raiden hummed,

"What else is there to say?" Guy wondered from below,

"I'm not sure Sensei." Lee responded.

"During the last attack on our village-" Tsunade closed her eyes for a split moment, "-we lost two great shinobi. Kaito Fujima, head of our regular forces and Aoi Aiuchi the head of our black op's division. These were two of our best ninjas, since we lost them many of our departments have been scrambling to stay afloat and so, I have decided to not replace their roles. But instead their jobs will be combined into a Commander title-"

"Well damn." Shikamaru sat up, "Who the hell would want to take over a job like that?"

"What do you mean?" I asked,

"A Commander title-" Carver filled in, "-is a lot of work. That person will oversee every shinobi of our village."

"Oh."

"That was Sakura's job-" Raiden added, "-you remember how busy she was?"

"Yeah." I recalled her always being on the move. "She always had a lot of work to do."

"Correct." Raiden nodded, "Whoever gets stuck into that job, I feel sorry for that poor bastard."

"Yeah." Kiba and Shikamaru nodded in agreement.

"-which is why this announcement could not wait." Tsunade said, "-she needed to be sworn into the village as soon as possible so she can take over as our Commander and get things back into working order."

"She?" TenTen blinked,

"Please-" A large smile blossomed along Tsunade's face, "-help me introduce and welcome back Sakura Haruno-" My heart fluttered as it rolled inside my throat, wind pulled through my hair as I felt the air on my arms stand up. I watched as wind collected onto the stage beside Tsunade's left side. "-Commander of the Leaf Village!" My body moved faster than my mind could. I was on my feet and standing in front of the first row, my hands gripped the rails as my eyes were wide almost feeling like they were going to pop out of my skull.

"What!?" My voice called out as I stared at Sakura. "Did-Did I just hear that right!?" I turned to Hinata who jumped down to my side.

"You did." She breathed; tears pooled into her eyes as she looked at me. "Sakura is..."

"She is our Commander?" Raiden asked as Carver leaned against the railing. "What-?"

"That was a short retirement." Carver commented as Tsunade swore Sakura into the leaf village.

"How-When-Did you know!?" I breathed turning to Raiden and Carver.

"No!" Raiden quickly shook his head, his mouth still hanging open as my head spun. "I-I had no idea she was...I thought she has been inside the Waterfall Village!"

"She has been." Carver said,

"You-You knew!?" I gasped seeing his relaxed expression.

"Calm down-" Carver chuckled, "-I have only known for a couple hours."

"But why-"

"I don't know." Carver shrugged, "Tsunade told me."

"Why is Sakura here?" TenTen breathed shaking her head.

"Tsunade didn't give much detail-" Carver answered, "-all she said was Sakura offered to become Commander here."

"She offered?" Raiden asked, "But that doesn't...what!? Sakura turned down the fucking Hokage title! Why would she offer to simply be a Commander here?" I turned to Sakura as she held her hand up agreeing to protect and serve in the name of his village.

Sakura didn't wear her normal outfit that I was used to. Sakura's long hair was pulled up and out of the way. She wore black boots with matching pants tucked into them, a long sleeve shirt with the sleeves pulled up to her elbows due to the heat, the armor on her chest molded against her body perfectly.

"I'm built for war-" Her words breathed through me, "-not much else."

I understood why she would agree to being a commander and not the hokage, the only question I didn't understand is why wasn't she inside the waterfall village taking over as their commander again?

What had happened that pushed Sakura in our direction?

"Welcome home-" Tsunade announced never removing her eyes from Sakura, "-Commander Haruno." I felt my ear to ear smile flourish as I watched Tsunade and Sakura hug, was this finally it? Had Sakura finally come home to us?

Tsunade whispered something into Sakura's ear before turning to the microphone and excusing us all to go enjoy our day off. I watched as everyone gave one last round of clapping before getting up and began to march their way to sweet brisk freedom.

I searched the area but blinked confused, Sakura and Tsunade where gone. 


	15. Chapter 15

P.O.V. Commander Sakura Haruno

"Congrats Commander."

I turned looking over my right shoulder to see Carver's smug face standing behind Tsunade and I as we walked through the ghostly streets that would soon fill with people leaving the arena.

"Hey." I smiled as he hugged me, my heart felt good almost light seeing him after a month of being away.

"It's about time-!" He instantly switched gears so quickly and began to lecture me, I think I got whip lash. "-only took you three years to get your ass here!"

"Well..." I shrugged my shoulders, "...I'm here."

"Yeah." Carver flexed a smile, "Better late than never. Tsunade said something about you going to the Waterfall Village before the announcement meeting today?"

"I did." I lightly nodded to his question.

"And how did that go?" Carver asked as Tsunade flashed a confused face along her facial features.

"It went..." I trailed off chewing on the inside of my cheek.

"Why did you go to the Waterfall Village?" Tsunade asked,

"To let them know she was moving here." Carver answered for me, I watched the bright realization spread across Tsunade's fair face.

"Oh!" She gasped in comprehension.

"Yes." I nodded, confirming Carvers answer.

"How bad was it?" Carver asked cramming his hands into his pants packets much like someone else I knew did, I licked my lips gazing around our quite surroundings.

"Dawn told me to not come back." I sighed, seeing no point in sugar coating the truth for them.

"What!?" Tsunade gasped, her amber eyes widened like the sun when it hung lazily in the open sky.

"Wow." Carver said, taking a moment to let this information settle in. "She is that petty-?" He laughed sounding amused, "-Dawn would let the two largest villages relationship fall because she is what...jealous?"

"Seems like it." I said, "It really pissed her off when I told Annistyn I wanted her to move here-"

"You did what now!?" Carver laughed harder as I mindlessly followed him and Tsunade, where were we going?

"I told Annistyn I wanted her to move here." I breathed in a breath through my chapped lips.

"I can see why you would want that." Carver nodded, "What did Annistyn say?"

"Nothing." I answered, "She was shocked and needed time to think it over."

"Yeah." Carver nodded, "Moving villages is a big change, especially when your young and have lived there your entire life."

"I guess." I smirked, "I wouldn't know-"

"I said sorry-!" Tsunade snapped, her hair rising in agitation. "-and you said you forgave me!"

"It was a joke." I slowly drew out,

"Oh." Tsunade blinked, relaxing as she turned to continue walking through the leaf village until I was led into the Hokage's Tower. I mindlessly gazed around until Tsunade stopped at a door adjacent from her office, she opened it and I was automatically pushed in.

"Why are we here?" I wondered looking around the brightly lit room, it held a nice desk with matching chair. Large clean windows lined the back wall, a couch was pushed off to the side with pillows resting on each arm.

"You're the one who said you wanted an office-" Carver mocked, "-with like walls and stuff."

"This is...?"

"Your office!" Tsunade cheered, throwing her arms up in excitment. "Your name will be put on the door tomorrow and-" Tsunade went on talking about the décor of excitement.

I was never given an office inside the waterfall village, I had to make one of the rooms inside my house into one. I smiled running my hand along the smooth desk, as my heart strangely felt warm and a soft fuzzy feel...it reminded me of a peach.

"There is also a gift-" Carver said coming around the desk and opening the bottom drawer. "-for you." He finished picking up a shiny bag placing it on the top of the desk for me.

"I get an office and a present?" I wondered eyeing him as I pulled out the tissue paper of the brightly colored gift bag. I laughed pulling out packs of different colored pens.

"You used to love them!" Carver sounded like he was defending the gift.

"I do." I nodded looking at the five packs of pens. "Thank you." I said giving him a quick hug.

"The tours not over yet!" Tsunade chuckled grabbing my hand pulling us out of the room.

"Where we going?" I wondered after a while, seeing Naruto's apartment complex was coming into view.

"Can't you just enjoy the view, Commander?" Carver laughed as I shot him an annoyed look, but I could see the delight in Carver's face that I had finally accepted returning to the leaf village.

"No." I answered, "I'm a buzz kill, tell me where we are going." I said.

"Home!" Carver groaned as he held the door open for Tsunade and myself to enter the building.

"Home?" I wondered outloud.

"What?" Tsunade asked as we stepped on the elevator, "You expect me to just accept you into the village and then go about my day?"

"Well...yeah." I answered earning a harsh look from her amber eyes.

"Did you even think this through?" Carver asked as we stepped onto his floor, "You just moved to a whole new village; you accept a job here. Did you think you'll just fuse into the village, like where did you expect to actually live?"

"I don't know." I said, the thought didn't occur to me. When I thought of my home, where all my material belongings I thought of my house inside the Waterfall Village that the Nine has fully taken over.

"It's a good thing you have me in your life." Carver said opening his apartment door.

"Is it?" I wondered to myself.

"Yes."

"I don't know-" I said looking around the clean apartment, it didn't look how I remembered his place to be. "-ever since I met you, I have a whole lot more headaches."

"And every single one of them is worth it." Carver flashed a toothy smile, "Welcome home, Sakura."

"Huh?" I asked turning from the two shinobi who watched me.

The apartment was different; there was fresh paint on the walls, there was a new furniture, it looked like a female lived here and not Carver well...I guess this could be Carver's place...

"This is your apartment." Carver said tossing a key chain at me.

"Are you offering me to live with you?" I teased catching it with ease.

"As fun as you are as a roommate-" Carver nodded across the hallway through the open front door. "-I live two doors down."

"What-"

"I moved out." Carver said putting his hands back into his pockets,

"Why?"

"You-" Carver said walking closer gripping my shoulders. "-are a creature of habit. I know you, and the life you lived inside that village it was hard for you to have a routine."

"So-" Tsunade stepped in. "-when I told Carver about you agreeing to become Commander of this village, we got to work,"

"You guys did this...for me?"

"Yes." Tsunade smiled, "You need a little familiarity around you during this big change, and I thought this place would do nicely."

"Thank you." I breathed not knowing what else to say.

"Of course." Carver and Tsunade grinned.

"So-!" Tsuande gestures around the apartment, "-do you like it!?"

"I do." I smiled, "Thank you."

"It was the least we could do." Tsunade blushed,

"How is Kaka-" I went to question the masked man's consciousness condition until Naruto came running through the open door.

"Sakura!?" He cried out, quickly engulfing me into an airtight hug.

"Wh-What?" I gasped out as he squeezed out all the air from my unsuspecting lungs.

"Is it true!?" Naruto blubbered on, "Are you really the new Commander of this village!?"

"Weren't you at the meeting?" I questioned.

"You better have been!" Tsunade snapped around, "I gave out clear orders-"

"I was there!" Naruto defended himself against Tsunade's hardened glare. "I just...I don't understand-!"

"Shocker." Carver muttered.

"-why now!?" Naruto rambled on, "What changed, what happened!? What-" I reached out covering his mouth with my hand.

"Aren't you happy that I am here?"

"Yes." He muffled from under my hand.

"Then can't you just be happy without all the questions?" I sighed removing my hand letting it drop down to my side.

"Well...yeah...but what happened!?" Naruto kick started his questions back up making me sigh as Raiden and Hinata came running into the apartment.

"Sakura!" Hinata grinned from ear to ear as she practically jumped into my arms pushing Naruto carelessly aside.

"Hey." I laughed hugging her back, "How you been?"

"I've been ok!" She smiles hugging me tightly.

"Hinata!?" Naruto whined pouncing to his feet.

"Why did you leave the arena so quickly!?" Raiden pouted, "You left before any of us could talk to you!"

"That was the point." Tsunade muttered under her breath.

"We wanted to show Sakura her new office and apartment before-" Carver quickly painted over Tsunade's comment.

"Huh?" Naruto blinked as Raiden raised an eyebrow.

"We are in Carver's place?" Naruto said slowly.

"Nope." Carver shook his head, "I live two doors down now."

"Why?"

"So, Sakura could move in here." Carver smiled my way, "It wasn't that hard, I had the Hokage on my side so things went pretty smoothly very quickly."

"Really now?" I lightly laughed.

"Yes." Carver nodded,

"Sakura!" Hinata bounced next to me.

"Ye-Yeah?" I asked,

"You just got a new job-" Hinata said, "-a new home, we need to go out and celebrate!"

"Celebrate what?" I blinked.

"Come on buzz kill." Carver said wrapping an arm around me, "Get changed and let's break in this village the right way."


	16. Chapter 16

Carver reached out pulling the popular leaf village's Cyan Cafe's front door open, standing aside allowing his group of friends to enter before him. Warm toasted air filled the night with gentle breezes, he let out a deep breath as a smile flourished over his full lips.

"Go grab a seat!" Naruto waved Hinata and Sakura over to the couch Naruto and his friends always took a seat on when they swung by the café.

"Are you sure?" Hinata questioned as Sakura was already moving tiredly towards the couch.

"Yeah!" Naruto chuckled from deep within his chest, "We will grab some drinks and be right there." Naruto said with Carver and Raiden following him to the bar.

A yawn played on Sakura's lips as she took a seat on the tan couch, Hinata sat beside her as an awkward silence fell over the two women.

"S-So how does it-it feel to be back?" Hinata stuttered trying to spark up the once natural conversation she had with this fiery pink haired soldier sitting beside her.

"Hm." Sakura hummed as a response. "I don't know yet."

"Oh?"

"Yeah." Sakura smirked, "It hasn't been even a full day yet."

"Ri-Right!" Hinata awkwardly laughed rubbing her sweaty hands on her jeans.

"How has living with Naruto been?" Sakura questioned, seeing Hinata's uneasiness floating around her saturating the crisp air. 

"U-Um-!" Hinata's voice was high pitched as her mind scrambled to string together an answer.

"I know it probably has been a while since you two moved in together, but I am still catching up on all the changes around here." Sakura added.

"We um..." Hinata muttered refusing to make eye contact. "...we are good."

"Yeah?" Sakura replied.

"Yes." Hinata smiled looking up and over to where Sakura sat on her left, the moment she gazed into Sakura's emerald eyes her heart felt like it was skittering to a halt and Hinata forgot how to pull in air into her lungs. This was the effect Sakura unknowingly had on the people around her.

"That's good to hear." Sakura flashed a smile that made Hinata deeply blush.

"Here we go!" Raiden shouted plopping down onto the couch across from where Sakura and Hinata sat. Carver handed Hinata and Sakura glass cups filled with a sweetened mix drink while Raiden and Naruto placed different types of shots down onto the glass coffee table.

"What is all of this?" Sakura asked.

"This-" Raiden pointed to the dozen shots. "-is a good time."

"Oh yeah?" Sakura cracked a smile, "For who? The bartender or you?"

"Pfft!" Raiden brushed Sakura off as he slides a light blue colored shot her way, "Shut up and drink!"

"Mm...trying to get me drunk, are we?"

"Yes!" Raiden grinned as he tipped a shot of whiskey down his throat.

"We are here to celebrate your new job!" Naruto laughed beside Hinata, leaning forward to see Sakura's staled face.

"Eh-" Sakura shrugged.

"You weren't able to really do this the first time you became a Commander." Raiden muttered with a pout sitting on his face, he had a feeling Sakura wouldn't be up for this party tonight. Knowing her, Sakura would have wanted to get a jump start on her newly inherited duties and spend the night inside her bran new office working away the late hours of the night.

"What do you mean?" Hinata wondered perking her lips together.

"Sakura was thrown into the Waterfall's Commander role; she was too busy trying to keep those soldiers in line and stop Purgatory from returning to really enjoy the achievement." Raiden informed the leaf shinobi.

"Oh..." Hinata breathed turning to look at Sakura as a painful sting flashed through her heart.

"Well-" Naruto slowly said, "-that isn't how this time is gonna be!" He his goofy smile at Sakura who could only return the favor.

"Yeah!" Hinata and Raiden agreed,

"Drink up!" Naruto ordered; Sakura sighed but reached to towards the shot anyway.

"To Commander Haruno!" Hinata and the others cheered before tipping the shot glasses back.

"Ew!" Naruto's face scrunched up causing Sakura and Hinata break out into laughter. "What-What is that!?"

"It's a pickle back." Carver answered feeling entertained by Naruto's puckered face.

"It tastes terrible!" Naruto complained shaking his head, quickly reaching to the beer to wash the taste out of his mouth.

"It does not-" Carver replied, "-you're just a light weight like Raiden."

"I am not!" Raiden defended,

"Yes-" Sakura added to the conversation. "-you are."

"Oh yeah Haruno-!?" Raiden pointed; "-I bet I can out drink you-!"

"No!" Carver shouted over Raiden's voice, "We are not doing that tonight!"

"Why are you just a buzz kill!?" Raiden yelled at Carver,

"Why are you just a fucking light weight!?" Carver shouted back; Sakura smiled as she sipped on the fruity drink in her hand watching the show unfold before her, she has missed this.

Sakura looked overhearing the jingle the front door made as it opened.

"The fun has arrived!" TenTen shouted, her arms in the air as she walked over towards Naruto and the others.

"Ha!" Raiden mocked, "The fun has already arrived, I am here!"

"What am I?" Carver asked gesturing to himself. "Chopped-"

"You already started without us!?" TenTen whined as Neji strolled up behind her, looking unhappy TenTen forced him into the out.

"You took your sweet time getting here!" Naruto giggled with a blushed face as he sipped on his dark beer.

"We had work to do!" TenTen defended as she sat on the couch across from Sakura. "Well anyway-" She smiled picking up one of the scattered drinks on the table, "-congratulations Commander Haruno!"

"Thanks." Sakura smiled leaning back against the couch.

"Yes." Neji nodded, "Congratulations on the new job."

"This is so great!" Naruto laughed feeling warm and fuzzy like he was sitting on the bright sun. Naruto's heart was so light, Sakura had finally returned to the leaf village!

"How drunk is he?" TenTen muttered after another taking a shot for herself.

"A lot." Sakura smirked looking over to the blond who hugged Hinata.

"I am not drunk!" Naruto slurred, "You're drunk!"

"Said every drunk person ever." TenTen rolled her eyes, the bell to the front door sang out again. Sakura watched as the remaining members of Konoha eleven strolled on into the café.

"Hey!" Kiba waved.

"Hey guys!" Naruto perked up.

"You started already!?" Lee cried seeing the many empty shot glasses.

"We set a time for a reason." Carver said, "Seven o'clock was when everyone was supposed to meet here."

"Who shows up right at seven?" Ino rolled her eyes.

"Um..." Carver said looking at the buzzed people around him. "...every one of us?"

"Well who needs a drink!?" Kiba called over the voices as his attempt to stop a fight from brewing, "First rounds on me!"

"Yes!" Choji bounced at the offer, "Does that include food!?"

"What? No!" Kiba argued as he moved to the bar.

"Where is Lady Tsunade?" Shino wondered.

"She went home." Naruto answered,

"Huh!?"

"Yeah." Hinata nodded, "She was with us for a little bit but when we started our way here, she parted ways."

"But why!?"

"She said a rowdy crowd full of drunk people is no place for a pregnant woman." Carver recalled, "Which she would be correct."

"Commander Haruno-!" Lee called out, earning a few curious eyes. His body was stiff as he quickly bowed as leaving Sakura feeling confused as she blinked, feeling the alcohol she has been downing start to work its magic. "-thank you for agreeing to become our Commander! I hope we will make you proud as shinobi!"

The growing group looked from Lee and then to Sakura whose famous stone face melted away as a smile grew along her lips.

"You already have." Sakura said, Lee snapped his eyes up. His heart swelled with pride as his large round eyes teared up.

"Commander!" Lee said as tears filled his eyes.

"Ah..." Sakura said looking around feeling uncomfortable, "...what did I do?"

"Nothing." Neji sighed, "Lee is just overly emotional."

"Lee go get drinks for everyone!" TenTen ordered.

"So-" Raiden spoke after Lee scurried off with the rest of the leaf shinobi who were quickly filling up the bar rail. "-what are we going to do about the Waterfall Village?"

"Huh?" TenTen looked up from trying to fish out the cherries inside her dark drink.

"What do they-?" Neji began but was quickly cut off by Raiden.

"They are not exactly happy that Sakura has chosen to lead the Leaf Village and not return as Commander over the Waterfall Village." Raiden unneeded filled everyone in.

"What does this mean?" Neji wondered, "Are they our enemy now?"

"No." Sakura spoke up looking into her blue drink.

"No?" Raiden laughed, "Dawn basically kicked you out of the Waterfall Village and told you to not come back, what does that-"

"She is--but that doesn't mean I will write her or the Waterfall Village off."

"So...we don't need to worry about getting ambushed in the middle of the night?" Neji questioned.

"No." Sakura strongly answered.

"How do you know!?" TenTen wondered, "If what Raiden said is true then Commander Dawn will be-"

"No one inside that village would have the balls to stand against Sakura." Carver said, trying to comfort the growing panicked look inside TenTen's face.

"How so?" Shikamaru looked up from sitting on the floor. "Granted she was once their boss like two years ago, that doesn't mean they wouldn't revolt against her now, two years is a long time-"

"It is." Carver agreed, "But Sakura spent a lot more time than just two years training those soldiers, yes maybe there are still a few that would go after Sakura but most of those soldiers are loyal right down to their DNA."

"But how do you-"

"Because it was my fail safe." Sakura answered, feeling annoyed of this conversation.

"Your...what?" Hinata asked.

"When I trained those soldiers-" Sakura answered, "-I ripped their minds apart, when I had to put them back together again, I branded them while leaving my imprint. This was my fail safe should Kaguya ever step out of line again and needed to be taken down."

"That's..." TenTen blinked.

"Horrible." Shikamaru answered for TenTen, "How could you do that to those people?"

"I was a different person back then." Sakura shrugged feeling numb.

"How could you change-"

"So, this is fun-!" Raiden said looking at all the faces, "-hey where's Kakashi?" Sakura cringed hearing his name.

"I don't know." Carver answered, "I invited him, then again he did just get named the next Hokage so maybe he's out celebrating too."

"Why can't he do that here?" Raiden whined inside his glass. 

"I don't know-" Carver sighed, "-why don't you go find and ask him!?"

Sakura leaned against the arm of the couch as she quickly finished off the beer in her hand. Her heart pounded roughly inside her chest and he wasn't even inside the room with her. Sakura reached out and took one of the last remaining shots and slammed it.

Sakura was beginning to realize she truly hadn't thought this through, she was now the commander of the same village he lived in. She was now trapped inside a confined space with only so much room to keep them apart, she could feel the leaf village walls were beginning to close in on her.

What had she done?

As Sakura bit her bottom lip, she grabbed the last shot that sat upon the coffee table and tipped it back, she welcomed the burning sensation as it flowed down her throat.

Raiden looked over, having moved to sit on the floor next to Sakura he scrunched his face seeing his fresh beer was missing.

"Hey!" He whined looking up at Sakura, "That was mine-"

"Tonight, is not about you." Sakura commented drinking his beer.

Hours slide past the leaf village, bottles of different types of alcohol were heavily drank by the leaf shinobi and Sakura was swaying back and forth in her seat enjoying the feeling of numbness inside her joints.

"I swear!" Carver laughed leaning back against the couch, "The girl so was hot!" Carver said painting a livid picture of his last steamy encounter with the opposite sex.

"He isn't lying." Raiden nodded remembering the woman he was talking about; they had spotted her on their last mission that took them outside the leaf village. "She was so hot; I would let that girl take my cock and balls and twist them into a balloon poodle-"

"What in the fuck-!?" Everyone laughed, throwing their heads back as tears filled their eyes. Hinata coughed, dripping a little of her margarita down her chin.

"What kind of fifty shades of fucked up are you getting yourself into!?" Carver laughed playfully pushing on Raiden's shoulder.

"Hey-!" Raiden said, "-don't knock it until you try it."

"What?" Carver laughed.

"Was she that good looking?" Choji wondered,

"Oh-" Raiden sighed. "-I would make dog noises if she asked me too-"

"Ok-!" TenTen waved her hand, "-I am learning way too much about you guys!"

Itachi walked into the café just then, he was greeted with the sweet sounds of laughter as he moved into the building. Itachi smiled wide seeing Sakura on the couch, laughing with everyone else at something Raiden had said. He moved to walk behind the couch in order to get near Sakura.

"Hey." Itachi commented, touching her arm.

"Hey!" Sakura smiled looking up at him. "Where have you been?" She slurred her simple words.

"I was on border patrol remember?" Itachi chuckled, "The ANBU had to take over everyone's shifts due to the meeting today."

"Oh yeah." Sakura recalled, her head swayed back as she tried to sit up right.

"You're a little drunk I see." Itachi smirked as he watched Sakura laugh.

"A little bit." Sakura admitted.

"Well since I am a bit late to the party-" Itachi sighed, "-congratulations on the job Sakura."

"Thank you." Sakura grinned, "Oh!" She perked up; her eyes lit up like the northern star. "I have an office!"

"An-An office?" Itachi felt amused.

"Yes! It has walls!"

"Yeah?" Itachi laughed,

"Yes! You should see it; it even has windows!"

"That's right-" Itachi recalled to himself, Kaguya never let Sakura have an office inside the Waterfall Village. Kaguya never saw a point to it. "-I would love to see it." Itachi smiled, loving the fact the leaf village was off to a better start with how they treated her than the waterfall village did in the years they had her.

"Let's go!" Sakura bounced up,

"Wh-What?" Itachi asked, the room was full of intoxicated people who all mingled around, moving from one seat to another.

"You don't want to see-" Sakura turned to Itachi, who felt a need to keep that bright shine in her eyes.

"Of course, I do!" Itachi laughed, "Lead the way!"

"Yes!" Sakura bounced, moving to leave the building but she quickly turned grabbing her drink off the table before leaving to exit the café.

"Uh..." Itachi said quickly following, "...can you just take that?"

"I'll bring it back." Sakura said pulling the beer to her lips.

"Ahh...ok." Itachi shrugged, it was her night not his. Itachi didn't want to do anything to ruin the one-night Sakura has had any real fun.

\----

Sakura used the key chain Carver threw at her to open the office door. Itachi looked around before flicking the light on. The walls were a fresh light blue color, there was a desk and a nice chair placed at the back wall, a computer and office phone sat on the desk. Itachi noticed the couch and another door which he knew if this was like Tsunade's office it led to a small bathroom.

"This is nice." Itachi commented.

"Yes!" Sakura said as she carelessly plopped her cell phone down onto the desk before taking a long drink.

"How are you doing?" Itachi wondered moving into the office without shutting the door.

"Hm?"

"With being here and not the Waterfall Village."

"I don't know." Sakura shrugged, "Everyone keeps asking me that even though it has only been a day."

"We just want to make sure you're ok." Itachi chuckled.

"I am ok." Sakura said,

"I know." Itachi sighed, "But we wouldn't be much of a friend to you if we didn't ask and make sure, now would we?"

"I guess not..."

"Exactly." Itachi took the rare win inside an argument against Sakura and left it at that. "Do you have any ideas on what you're going to do first?" Itachi asked trying to keep the conversation going, he felt starved for her attention. 

"Huh?"

"Are you going to change anything or...?"

"I'm not sure yet." Sakura muttered, "Tomorrow Tsunade and I will be getting together and going over the latest issues, I will be put into the system so I can use this thing-" Sakura gestured to the computer.

"I see." Itachi nodded, "Well, like you said it has only been a day so there's no rush."

"Yeah." Sakura smiled, looking around the spinning room before a full smile bloomed onto her face taking Itachi by surprise as she let out a round of laughter. His eyes widened as he took in her bright face, her sparkling eyes and her blushed cheeks. Itachi's stomach fluttered as he moved forward, his wrapped his arms around her and before Sakura's drunken mind could understand what was happening Itachi leaned in for a stolen kiss.

Sakura blinked her wide eyes, staring at Itachi for a moment before allowing herself to close her eyes and lean into his kiss. Itachi's right arm wrapped around her numbed waist pulling her into him as the other combed itself through her long hair, tangling his fingers through the silky strands.

After a moment the alcohol inside her thinned, Sakura touched Itachi's chest, but she didn't feel those fireworks exploding around her. Her knees didn't feel weak and the world outside wasn't draining into the background. Sakura's stomach felt like it was twisting but not with butterflies flapping joyfully inside her, it felt sour and almost like she wanted to vomit, was this due to all the fast drinking she did or...something else?

"What the-"

Itachi broke his delightful kiss as he and Sakura turned their heads to view the open office door. Sakura's mind scribbled to a stop seeing his masked face and gravity defying hair standing in the doorway.

"Kakashi?" Sakura breathed, her tongue running across her swollen lips as she was engulfed into Kakashi's grey eyed gaze. 


	17. Chapter 17

"Are you drunk-!?" Kakashi barged into the newly renovated office, his tone ascendant as his exposed eye hardened like glistening winter ice. Itachi glared at the masked man as he walked directly into Sakura's personal space; whose face felt hot to the light touch. "-you are." Kakashi concluded, his hand cupping the side of her right cheek.

"I-" Sakura went to speak but Kakashi turned away from her words, pressing himself in-between Itachi and Sakura.

"What do you think you are doing!?" Kakashi's imperious tone sent tingling shivers trailing up Sakura's arms. Kakashi glared edged daggers into Itachi's expressionless face.

"What am I doing?" Itachi countered with a snarky question. "What are you doing here?"

"She is clearly drunk-" Kakashi gestured to Sakura whose drunken head was still spinning from Itachi's unsuspecting kiss along with Kakashi's presence.

"She is not-" Itachi went to roll his eyes.

"She is." Kakashi stated, taking an assertive step forward. "What do you think you're-?"

"I don't have to explain myself to you-" Itachi said crossing his muscular arms over his broad chest. "-you're not Hokage just yet."

"You do when your taking advantage of an intoxicated woman-"

"I would never take advantage of her-!"

"Yeah I am standing right here." Sakura rose her hand, pushing Kakashi to the side so she could see Itachi.

"Sakura-" Itachi breathed, feeling an ravenous urge to reach out and touch her. "-are you-"

"I swear to God if you're going to ask me if I am ok; I will punch you through that wall." Sakura snapped.

"Sakura you can't-" Itachi sighed, his chest pounding rapidly, he couldn't believe he just reached out and kissed her the way he did! His chest felt like it was filled with sweet spindles of cotton candy.

"I can-" Sakura added, "-because it's mine." Itachi didn't stop the smile from spreading like melted butter across his face. She was so proud of her office, he found it was so adorable.

"Sakura-" Kakashi turned around to see her swaying on her feet. "-let me get you home."

"Huh?" Sakura blinked as she quickly got out of Kakashi's reach. "I'm not a child, I can-"

"You have been drinking." Kakashi said, "You need to get home."

"And you need to fuck off." Sakura spat, hating the way he made her feel like she was a disappointment just because she went out and had a few simple drinks. "Guess we are both screwed." She said walking around him.

"Sakura-?" Kakashi tried again to reach out and take her hand, not understanding what she meant by her statement.

"Don't fucking touch me-!" Sakura bit glaring into his exposed eye, liquid anger ignited itself inside her chest, pumping her full of a rage she didn't know she had been sitting on. "-you lost the right a long time ago." Sakura turned on her heel and exited the room.

Itachi sighed rubbing his face with his right hand, he wanted this to be a fun filled night, and not end in some type of fight. He should never had kissed her but...what if Kakashi never interrupted?

What could have happened between them?

Itachi needed to find Sakura, she was drunk and walking around at night. Granted she may now be the new village commander; he didn't want to take any risks when it came down to her safety.

"Where do you think you're going?" Itachi snapped his head towards Kakashi who was moving to exit the room.

Kakashi's exposed eye was seething as he turned to glance back at the man who had just placed his hands on his Sakura Haruno.

"I don't answer to you."

\----

The sidewalk swayed side to side like a boat sitting on gentle waves as Sakura walked away from the Hokage Tower, the damn tiles were moving around making it hard for Sakura to keep on track where the sidewalk was leading her.

Sakura gazed up to the clear sky; she felt heart sickened as Kakashi standing in the doorway with another man kissing her vividly replayed inside her head, tears threatened to spill over as she shook her head questioning herself as to why she ever stepped foot back inside this village.

Why hadn't she just stayed away? 

She knew she was too dark, too twisted ever fit back inside this scintillating village.

"How long are you going to track me?" Sakura asked turning to gaze at the somber tree lining behind her.

"I'm impressed-" His deepened voice sent chills over through her body. Kakashi appeared a few yards behind her, "-I didn't think you would be able to sense me."

"You thought wrong." Sakura replied, "Why are you stalking me?"

"Whether you like it or not, you shouldn't be outside along at night."

"I think I can handle myself."

"I know you can-" Kakashi said moving closer, "-when your sober."

This was not how Sakura pictured her first encounter with Kakashi after being freed from Hanare's jutsu. A large piece of her was praying that somehow, someway fairy tail way Kakashi would have woken up as the man she remembered, the man who loved her so deeply. 

Sakura pulled air in between her lips as she sighed looking around the drab streets of the hidden leaf village, she was beginning to believe that man was truly gone for forever.

"Where is Itachi?" Sakura wondered out loud, why hadn't he followed her? 

Was that kiss simply due to all the alcohol from the party?

"He..." Kakashi trailed off for a moment, "...got tied up with something."

"What did you do?" Sakura questioned.

"I didn't put him through one of your walls." Kakashi smirked under his mask, Sakura studied him with a foggy brain.

The moon light shined brightly around him, reflecting off his sliver hair making him appear as if he were glowing. "What did you mean?" Kakashi questioned, his hands casually resting inside the pockets of his pants.

"Huh?" Sakura tilted her head, making Kakashi smirk from underneath his mask.

"When you said-" Kakashi corrected his question, "-I lost the right to touch you-"

"You have got to be kidding-" Sakura muttered shaking her head, "-just fuck off Kakashi." Sakura said not feeling up to carrying out a conversation with him tonight. She could feel the numbness beginning to ware off, she felt her nerves and tired bones. 

"Sakura-" Kakashi said, closing the space in between them as he gently grabbed her wrist. "-talk to me."

"Oh-" Sakura colorlessly laughed, "-now you want to talk?"

"Yes." Kakashi answered,

"No." Sakura shook her head, "I'm not doing this."

"Why can't you look at me?" Kakashi wondered gazing down onto her dainty face. The truth was Sakura couldn't. To look at him now felt like she had a walking, talking, breathing ghost of the man she loved haunting her everyday life. 

Sakura was aware she had died in his arms; she left her mark on this earth and her time was done but now she had been ripped back into a reality she couldn't recognize.

Pieces of her believed she died and remained dead, this was her hell.

"You don't want to have to this conversation-" The venom inside her voice dripped off the letters as she turned to look up into Kakashi's exposed eye. "-with me, not right now."

"I think now is the perfect time." Kakashi commented, "Why weren't you around after you returned-?"

"Excuse me?" Sakura sneered, locking her sights onto him. "What in the hell did you just say to me I may be a little drunk, but I don't think I quiet heard you right."

"Why did you leave the village after you returned from the Reaper's control?" Kakashi stepped closer, he reached out brushing a few strands of her hair between his fingers. "Why weren't you around, you could have sensed-"

"It is my fault?" Sakura blinked, trying to wrap her head around his words.

"What? No, well-"

"Alright-" Sakura glared taking a step away from Kakashi; "-how about you break that down for me, nice and slow?"

"Hm?"

"It's somehow my fault that when I was dead, you got trapped inside your girlfriends-?"

"Hanare isn't my girlfriend-"

"Oh, forgive me-" Sakura darkly laughed, "-your fuck buddies-"

"She is the woman who had me locked inside a mind jutsu."

"How did you let that happen? Hm?" Sakura thought out loud, "How could the all mighty Kakashi Hatake get overpowered by a petite little woman like Hanare Takeda?"

"I-" Kakashi's chest squeezed.

"Because you were fucking her right?" Sakura answered for him, running her tongue over her lips as she shook her head. "Are you really going to stand there and blame me for you getting your ass hustled?"

"I-"

"Where were you?" Sakura asked,

"H-Huh?"

"When I returned-" Sakura clarified, "-where were you when I returned and needed you the most?"

"I was-"

"You were next door, fucking the village spy." Sakura pothered.

"Sakura that isn't fair-"

"I am sorry-" Sakura cut in, "-that I wasn't really around when you came back from the Reaper's control, I really wanted to be but unlike me you returned from the dead with a missing memory and took one look at me and decided I wasn't good enough for you!"

"Sakura, that isn't-"

"No, it fucking is and don't try to spin it with your pretty words and make it something else because the truth of the matter is unlike you I didn't fucking come back take one look at you and go 'Oops, my bad, dated my teacher how fucking embarrassing!' I didn't leave the village because I wanted too, I left because I had to."

"What-"

"I sat inside Carver's apartment in a fucking daze, with my head pounding so loud I could barely hear anything around me. My eyes burned for weeks-" Sakura shouted, tears filling her eyes. "-it didn't matter if it was dark, bright or fucking blue, everything ached!"

"Sakura-" Kakashi breathed out, moving closer watching the tears spill over her eyes.

"My chest felt like it was kicked in, every piece of my body hurt. I had no control over my seal or my eyes and I could take all of that-" Sakura breathed, "-but listening to you fuck that whore in the next room, that is why I left and now you have the balls to stand there and ask me why I didn't stay? Why I couldn't just sense the jutsu being used on you when I couldn't even process the fact I was even back from the dead!?"

"I am sorry-"

"I don't care." Sakura shook her head wiping the tears from her face. "I don't care anymore, I can't-"

"Just listen to me-"

"No!" Sakura shouted, taking a step back from him. "You are going to be what puts me back into my grave and I will be damned if that happens! You are not worth going through that hell again!" 

"I would never let you." Kakashi breathed moving closer to her, his hands gently gripping her sides testing the waters to see if she would allow this.

"No." Sakura gasped willing the tears to stop, "You can't spin your way out of this one Hatake."

"I don't want to." Kakashi breathed as he leaned forward, with his left hand he pulled his mask down as his right arm snaked around Sakura's waist pulling her into him. The moment his lips landed on hers, Sakura's body melted against Kakashi's. Her eyes fluttered closed on their own account causing the butterflies inside her stomach to activate flying laps around her stomach as her knees felt weak.

Kakashi's left hand found its way into her long luscious pink hair, he gripped a fist full before lightly pulling her head back. Sakura moaned gripping the front of his shirt as she dives in needing to feel him against her. Kakashi euphorically obliged lustfully engorging on her lips.

The fact they were standing in the middle of a bare street dissolved away. Sakura's heart was hammering away inside her chest, weaving tasty electricity coursing through her body.

Kakashi never understood the moment he read so many times in novels when two people came together, when they felt the world fade away, everything and everyone blurred out and it would be just those two people left inside their own personal moment...Kakashi never understood this feeling until he met her. Feeling her against his body, made him feel so warm and so comfortable nothing else in the world mattered.

"Kakashi-" Sakura moaned feeling his mouth leave her lips only to dip down onto her exposed neck sucking and nibbling along the soft tissue. "I-" Sakura groaned, feeling herself getting turned on. Tingling pressure began to build between her legs as she leaned her head to the side giving Kakashi more access to her neck.

"Hanare." Kakashi breathed against Sakura's neck.

"What-?" Sakura's eyes snapped open, the delightful pressure between her thighs receded back into her body as she pulled away from a confused looking Kakashi. The soldier and shinobi stared at each other; Sakura shook her head pulling her lips together. "I am so stupid." Sakura breathed running her dominant hand through her ruffled hair.

"No-" Kakashi said, "-your-" Kakashi blinked looking towards the ground as his body felt like it was being drained of all energy. "-please wait-!" Kakashi called seeing Sakura turned to walk away.

"No-" Sakura scrunched her face in annoyance.

"Where are you going!?" Kakashi called as his eye began to burn.

"It is my night after all-" Sakura looked over her shoulder, "- so I'm going to go enjoy it."

"Sakura-"

"Oh, now you get my name right." Sakura said, spinning on her heel in the direction of the café where Naruto and the others were still held up, drinking away their names.

P.O.V. Change: Kakashi Hatake

My head pounding against my skull was the first thing that reached me as I slowly stirred awake, I blinked my burning eyes as I sat up. I felt terrible, the sunlight sleeking through the curtains agitating my eye. A huff of air slid out from my chest as I got up and pulled the curtains closed making my bedroom black as the beautiful night sky.

Why do I feel so miserable and strung out? I am painfully stone cold sober; I didn't have one drop to drink last night. Despite Guy and Asuma trying to push drinking onto me last night. 

I need coffee.

Coffee always makes everything better.

Ruffling my hair with my hands I turned from the window as I felt the pressured headache inside my head start to grow. "Ah." I muffled, pulling my hands to grip the sides of my head as the pricking pain began to spread tightly compacting my skull as it did so. I felt my knees give out from underneath me bringing me down to the floor of my bedroom.

I gasped out, sweat coated my skin as I felt heat flashes paint my body. My eyes flew open as hundreds of pictures flashed through my inflamed sight. I glazed around at them, they were all of my beautiful Sakura. Her smile, her face, her tasty body. I watched as my hands trailed over her bare stomach, I watched in confusion as I kissed her plump lips. 

I blinked as my brows furrowed together; the memories I recalled began to flicker and morph to my horror as Sakura pixelate into someone I didn't know.

Sakura's bright emerald orbs diminished into brown eyes; her hair washed out into a dulled green color. What was this? Was this another jutsu?

I blinked looking around not understanding. The time, memories and all the dates I thought I spent with Sakura were now all changing into moments with...Hanare...I leapt up, rushing to the bathroom quickly bending over the toilet as vomit came rushing to the surface.

I gasped for air as I coughed, I blinked my burning eyes shut leaning against the wall all the energy drained from my body leaving me feeling like an empty shell. Besides the pain that was slowly beginning to reduce inside my skull, I couldn't feel a thing.

Gripping the side of my head, I could scene something was deeply wrong. It was like flashing sirens were exploding inside my head, screaming my name ever so desperately. I tipped my head back against the wall feeling my body rest.

What is happening to me?


	18. Chapter 18

Sakura opened her eyes taking in a deep breath as a yawn flexed her lips. She looked around her bedroom as she slowly sat up, she could feel the knots and tangles lacing her long hair as she scratched her head.

She stretched her arms out, joints inside her body joyfully popped as a result, Sakura sighed feeling her tightened muscles loosen. Slowly but surely last night replayed through her mind, Itachi's drunken kiss and her interesting encounter with Kakashi.

"Ugh..." Sakura groaned, dropping her face into her hands.

How could she have gotten mad at Kakashi the way she did? She knew it wasn't his fault but at the same time, she felt like it was...he called her by that woman's name, what else was Sakura supposed to do!?

Sakura yawned again before getting out of bed, her stomach roared its hungry head. She wondered if she had any food at all, she never had the second to check if she was left with any supplies, she may need to make a list and do her second least favorite thing: grocery shopping.

"Well good morning!"

Sakura peeked through her fingers as she walked into the living room rubbing her tired face. Carver waved from sitting the couch watching television. 

"I thought this was my apartment." Sakura muttered,

"It is." Carver laughed at Sakura's grumpy expression, "I brought presents."

"Hm?" Sakura asked turning to Carver,

"Well first there's coffee-" Carver pointed to the kitchen.

"Yes." Sakura breathed,

"-there is also fired rice for you." Carver added knowing how when Sakura is hung over, she craves fried rice.

"Really?" Sakura's eyes pooled to the small bar that separated the kitchen and living room from each other, there placed a white container with a bottle of water sitting beside it. "What do you want?" Sakura asked as she picked up the plastic fork and began to dig in.

"Nothing!" Carver flashed a grin. "I just know you and how you are after you drink."

"Yes." Sakura nodded, "But normally when you do nice things for me, you want something in return."

"I don't need anything."

"But what do you want?" Sakura pressed.

"Nothing!" Carver nervously laughed, "I just thought it would be nice to feed and water you."

"I'm not a plant."

"You're like a cactus." Carver replied. "Little bit of sunlight and water you a couple times a week, your fine!"

"Go away." Sakura commented turning to make herself a cup of coffee.

"Oh, come on-!" Carver laughed, "-that was funny!"

"Mhm." Sakura hummed sipping the hot liquid.

"By the way-" Carver muttered, "-where did you go last night?"

"Huh?"

"You vanished for like an hour."

"I'm surprised you noticed." Sakura answered, "You were pretty drunk-"

"We were all pretty drunk, but we still noticed the guest of honor missing."

"Took you an hour?"

"We were drunk!" Carver defended, "But then you showed up so..."

"I was with Itachi." Sakura said, "I showed him my office."

"Oh?" Carver raised his eyebrows, "Nice-Nice...so did you...break your new office in or-"

"I didn't fuck him." Sakura rolled her eyes, "I don't know why that is your go to for everything-"

"Your hot!" Carver joked, "Why wouldn't you want to have men falling at your feet?"

"I don't like people?" Sakura guessed.

"You like me." Carver joked.

"Barely." Sakura said turning back to her rice.

"Hey-" Carver pointed, "-drink that water."

"No." Sakura said.

"Drink it, it's good for you-"

"No, it's not." Sakura responded, "It's unnatural."

"I-It's water!" Carver laughed, "That's about as natural as you can get."

"What about the sun?" Sakura asked,

"Well that's different it's the fucking sun-stop trying to change the subject!" Carver caught on, "You drank a shit ton last night, you need to re-hydrate yourself."

"There's water in this." Sakura said lifting her coffee mug.

"That doesn't count."

"Why?"

"Because it doesn't."

"But why?" Sakura asked, "There's water in it."

"But not the water you need."

"There are different kinds of water now?"

"Yes."

"Name them." Sakura challenged.

"Uh-Um...I am calling Tsunade."

"Why?"

"Because she will be on my side about your needing to drink water."

"Go for it." Sakura shrugged, "I'll tell her the same thing."

"Tell her what?" Carver asked feeling lightly confused,

"There is water in this." Sakura said holding her coffee mug back up.

"No!" Carver growled feeling a need to pull his hair out. "I am too hung over for you!"

"You're in my apartment." Sakura said.

"That I moved out to give you." Carver countered.

"I left the village I built to lead yours." Sakura smirked. "We can do this all day."

"Ha-Ha." Carver mocked seeing he lost the argument. "I don't think anyone is going to wake up from the dead-er...I mean uh..."

"It's fine." Sakura laughed seeing his flustered face, "I assumed everyone would be too hung over or still drunk to really even function today anyway."

"I was hoping to have everyone here for your first day of work." Carver weakly smiled, "We could all have breakfast and send you off."

"I appreciate it." Sakura said, "But you don't have to bend over backwards for me, I am here. I accepted the Commander title and I'm not going anywhere."

"I know it's just..." Carver laughed shaking his head feeling stupid, "...I just wanted to make you feel like you were home."

"I do feel like I am home." Sakura said, "So stop trying so hard and just relax."

"Ok-" Carver breathed, his chest deflating as he relaxed, "-I really did want everyone here for your first real day as our Commander."

"All Tsunade and I are doing today is getting me caught up with everything going on inside the village and also putting me into the system."

"That's it?"

"Yeah." Sakura nodding scratching her neck, "Nothing fun just yet." She smirked.

"Well..." Carver sighed, "...alright..."

"You look like you were just dragged out of hell-" Sakura commented, "-go get some sleep."

"Fine!" Carver dramatically threw his arms, "-I'll go to sleep while you head to work, but I'm not going to enjoy it."

"Yes-" Sakura nodded, as Carver walked to the front door. "-your life is just so hard."

"Your damn right!" Carver laughed opening the door, "Text me when your free tonight and we can probably grab dinner."

"Alright." Sakura shrugged.

"And drink that water!" Carver pointed before exiting the room.

"He thinks I'm a damn fish." Sakura muttered to herself as she picked up her coffee and avoided the water bottle at all costs as she got dressed for her first day as commander of the leaf village.

\----

"Good morning!" Tsunade's voice filled Sakura's quiet office, the pinkette looked up from the large stacks of files that cluttered her new desk.

"It's the afternoon now." Sakura muttered glancing at the clock which hung on the wall.

"Well..." Tsunade muttered, "...I might have slept in a bit, I was up late last night throwing up-"

"You and probably half of the village." Sakura smirked leaning back in her seat.

"I see you got all the files!" Tsunade scanned the desk.

"Oh yeah-" Sakura darkly laughed, "-I sure did. What the hell is all of this?"

"What do you mean?"

"This-" Sakura placed her hand on a foot-tall stake of files.

"Those are...?"

"Disciplinary files-" Sakura filled Tsunade in, "-that have been left undetermined for months."

"Like I said..." Tsunade sighed, "...I have genuinely been excruciatingly busy these past months."

"Hm." Sakura hummed, "Well thank you for the mountain of paperwork."

"I'm sorry, those were disciplinary issues were so low on my to do list I may have forgotten about them."

"I can see this." Sakura commented. "So, what do I owe the pleasure then?"

"Huh?"

"Your here?"

"Oh!" Tsunade chuckled, "How uh, how hung over are you?"

"Huh?" Sakura asked reaching over and grabbing her chilled fried rice. "I am fine, what do you want?" Sakura said reading through Tsunade's words.

"So, you can work?"

"What am I doing now?" Sakura asked looking around, "Building a damn bridge to Terabithia?"

"No-" Tsunade laughed at Sakura's sarcasm. "-how was last night!?"

"Uh..." Sakura trailed off recalling her drunken encounter with Itachi and then Kakashi's hot kiss. "...fantastic..." Sakura lied, not in the mood to relay the details of last night. 

"Great!" Tsunade nodded sitting down on the couch, "Because we need to talk."

"What is falling from the sky today?" Sakura leaned on her desk after closing the file in front of her, it wasn't even one o'clock yet and there was already a conspiracy getting thrown into Sakura's lap.

"Well...We really need to discuss what we are going to do about the eh...the..."

"The Lock Village?" Sakura guessed, "I remember you saying something about them having one of our shinobi?"

"Yes!" Tsunade breathed, "Riichi Buecher, he is normally a guard for the front gates and his family also owns one of the inns in town, he was taken a few weeks ago."

"I see." Sakura nodded, "Well I have a plan-"

"Re-Really!?" Tsunade breathed out, her chest fluttering with hopeful sparks.

"Yes." Sakura nodded, "But I will need to barrow Shizune for the day."

"Consider it done!" Tsunade instantly agreed, pulling her phone from her pocket to text her assistant to come to Sakura's office.

"While we wait for Shizune-" Tsunade said setting her phone down, "-what did you all do last night?"

"Um...just drank at the café." Sakura shrugged.

"That's it?"

"Yeah." Sakura nodded, "Just drank and told stupid stories."

"Well that sounds like a fun time."

"It was." Sakura flashed a smile. "I had fun."

"Good, how are-" Tsunade cut herself off as a knock on the door ended their light conversation.

"Come in." Sakura called; the door slowly opened to reveal Shizune Kato, Tsunade's apprentice as well as her husband Dan's niece.

"You called for me Lady Tsunade?" Shizune asked.

"I did." Tsunade said turning to Sakura. "You're going to be working for Sakura today."

"I-I am!?" Shizune gasped.

"Yes." Tsunade nodded.

"Oh-Oh...U-Um what do you need Commander?" Shizune blushed looking away from the bright emerald eyes, having Sakura's gaze on Shizune felt like her very soul was being scorched. 

"Here." Sakura picked up a folder resting beside the dead cell phone she had forgotten here last night. "I need you inform the shinobis that on this list to report tomorrow morning for an S-Rank mission."

"S-S-Rank!?" Shizune gasped, S-Rank missions were rare and extremely dangerous but paid the best is able to complete.

"Yes." Sakura nodded, "I also will need you to contact the Lock Village and let them know we will be accepting their trade, our shinobi for their spy."

"We-We are!?" Tsunade and Shizune gasped sounding astounded by Sakura's order. 

"Yes." Sakura nodded, "It will take the Lock Village at least half a day to travel here, so please go and contact them first."

"U-Um, yes Commander. Right away!" Shizune nodded as she quickly turned leaving the room and the two woman alone in silence.

"We are going to just give Hanare over!?" Tsunade harshly gasped once the shock settled.

"Hell no." Sakura laughed, "But Shizune doesn't need to know that."

"I-I am so confused." Tsunade blinked.

"The only people who need to know the true plan are the ones going on this mission." Sakura said.

"You're going to at least tell me the plan, right!?"

"Yes." Sakura chuckled, "Calm down."

"I am calm." Tsunade pouted,

"We are not going to give up Hanare, we simply can't." Sakura explained, "Hanare dug through Inoichi's mind while he was inside her head and now she has so much Intel on us if she gets loose, we are royally fucked."

"So...what do we do?"

"Well we got lucky-" Sakura said, "-Hanare could have been able to get away with her plan. Inoichi would have believed she was just an innocent girl and let her go if you hadn't called me in when you did."

"But she still got into Inoichi's head."

"Yes." Sakura nodded, "Which is why we are going to bring her to the trade with the Lock Village, we are going to get Riichi but not give them Hanare-"

"They are not going to go for that."

"Which is why I am labeling this an S-Ranked mission." Sakura said,

"You're going to kill them." Tsunade realized.

"If it comes down to it..." Sakura licked her lips, if she was still in charge of the waterfall village she and a small team would crawl into the lock village and burn it to the ground but she was no longer apart of the waterfall village, she was with the leaf now and they were more...sensitive. "...yes."

"But-"

"Do you want to get Riichi back?" Sakura asked.

"Well of course-"

"Then let me just do my job."

"But this-"

"They sent a spy into the village-" Sakura spelled out, "-they kidnapped our shinobi and put Kakashi under a jutsu. You're lucky I am not on my way to their fucking village right now with a torch in each hand."

"Your right." Tsunade sighed, "But don't you think it is just a high risk to bring her?"

"I do." Sakura agreed, "Which is why I am going to burn her before we go."

"Uh...burn her...?"

"It's a torture technique Kaguya taught me." Sakura sighed,

"O-Oh..." Tsunade's chest tightened not knowing how to feel about this statement.

"I can burn pieces of Hanare's memory away but it's a high-risk technique which is why it's not widely used in this day in age. I will barely have any control over what area's of Hanare's mind will be affected."

"So, when you...burn her, it will what? Basically, burn her brain so she won't remember?"

"Yup."

"And she will live?"

"Possibly."

"This is..." Tsunade breathed, "...I don't know Sakura."

"This isn't one of our own we are talking about." Sakura said crossing her arms over her chest, "This is a spy who snuck into your village, performing this technique takes a lot of chakra. I don't want to do it but it's a strong fail safe encase anything goes sideways."

"I agree." Tsunade said with an unsettled stomach, surprising Sakura who was expecting an argument or at least a little back talk. "So Shizune will gather the shinobi you wish to bring?"

"Yes."

"And she is arranging the drop between us and the Lock Village?"

"Yup." Sakura nodded, "It's all in the file I gave her, we will meet them tomorrow afternoon just outside our territory."

"Fantastic!" Tsunade stood, "In the meantime, we have some meeting to attend."

"Alright-" Sakura waved turning to face her desk, "-you better get going."

"Uh..." Tsunade trailed off quickly scratching her chin. "...you..."

"You have got to be kidding me." Sakura muttered, "You want me to go with you?"

"Yes." Tsunade smiled,

"No." Sakura shook her head. "I have enough shit to do before-"

"But..." Tsunade racked her brain, "...I am pregnant and-"

"Don't pull that pregnant bullshit with me." Sakura cut in, "I already picked up a lot of your work."

"Please?" Tsunade said with large innocent eyes. "I'll treat you to lunch afterwards."

"Ugh." Sakura sighed but rose to her feet despite the raging urge to run away. "Lead the way." The promise of food kept Sakura inside the building.

"Yes!" Tsunade turned on her heel, she quickly walked across the hall to where her office sat.

"What's this meeting about?" Sakura questioned as she felt a yawn coming on.

"We have our weekly meeting with the other villages." Tsunade answered opening her door.

"Your what?" Sakura smirked, "You all check in with each other?"

"Yes." Tsunade said matter-of-factly. "We all check in once a week."

"Are we five now?" Sakura joked following Tsunade into her office, Sakura carelessly pushed the door closed behind her as she turned to face the room.

"No-" Tsunade commented, Sakura took in Tsunade's lived in office and instantly froze seeing the silver hair leaning against the wall. Sakura stomach soured seeing him. "-you may think it's funny, because the Waterfall Village has always annoyingly done their own thing-" 

Sakura nodded at Tsunade, but she was too busy trying to keep her gaze off Kakashi. Of course, he would be here, he was studying under Tsunade to become the next Hokage, why hadn't Sakura prepared herself for him to become Tsunade's mini shadow.

"-but this is how we all live beside each other and keep the peace." Tsunade finished her statement as she turned on the monitors that hung on her wall, turning to look at a masked Sakura. "Are you ok?"

"Yup." Sakura said quickly clearing her throat.

"You are hung over huh?" Tsunade chuckled, Sakura's face felt hot as blood pooled to it, she could feel his eyes on the back of her head.

Sakura internally groaned, as her mind fell sideways into the gutter thinking back to the last time he gazed at the back of her head, there were a lot less clothes involved and it was a lot more fun than this.

"Sakura?"

"Huh?" Sakura blinked looking over at Tsunade's voice.

"Are you sure you're ok?"

"Just peachy." Sakura answered moving to sit on the couch, Kakashi leaned against the wall just feet away.

"Alright!" Tsunade said waiting for the other village leaders to get onto their video chat. "Sakura, what you would like for lunch?"

"I don't care." Sakura muttered, looking everywhere in the room except to her right where he stood.

"Lady Tsunade." Gaara nodded as he and the other village leaders flicked to life on the many screens. Sakura leaned back against the couch feeling bored, she didn't need to be here for this, she knew Tsunade simply wanted to show of that Sakura was now living inside the leaf village.

Sakura felt daring, stealing a quick glance over in Kakashi's direction. His presence was suffocating, wrapping around and not leaving her be. He casually leaned back against the wall, his hands in his pockets gazing a head watching Tsunade speak with the other village leaders.

Sakura pulled her lips together prying her eyes away from Kakashi before he noticed her watching him. Her heart fluttered inside her chest as she still felt the impression if his kiss from last night. Sakura leaned on the arm of the couch, pulling right leg up as her mind played dirty tricks on her, she glanced back at Kakashi, she could almost still feel his hot tongue running down her bare stomach as he gripped her-

"This is atrocious!" Onoki's voice filled Tsunade's office, snapping Sakura away from her lustful thoughts. "Why is the Reaper inside your village!?"

"She is now the Commander of the Leaf." Tsunade said with pride as she held her head high.

"Absolutely not!" Onoki shouted, Kakashi raised an eyebrow. Did Onoki of the stone village really believe he could tell Sakura where she can and cannot live?

"I don't see how this is fair." Mei, head of the mist village agreed, "Why do you get the Reaper?"

Kakashi looked over at Sakura who held a bored expression across her fair face. He felt a ping of annoyance hearing them call her 'Reaper', granted it had been her nickname for many years, how could someone call her something that was meant to be so grim and pessimistic?

"Commander Haruno is not a tool that can be passed around." Tsunade asserted.

"Why not?" Mei questioned,

"Wh-What!?" Tsunade stuttered, she couldn't believe what she was hearing!

"Why can't the Reaper travel village to village and work for all of us?" Onoki dared to say.

Sakura looked over to the screen hearing these words, what was this now?

"That is true." A who was head of the cloud village painfully agreed with Onoki, "It can travel village to village in mere seconds, why do you get to keep a weapon like that to yourselves?"

Sakura's heart heaved as she licked her lips turning away from the screen to gaze into the distance.

It.

That was what she was to the people she worked so hard to protected, she was simply a weapon; a war machine. When shit hit the fan that was when everyone needed her but when the trouble cleared, she was no longer wanted around.

"You will not belittle my Commander like this!" Tsunade snapped, much to Sakura's surprise. "Sakura Haruno is not an 'it' or a weapon for you all to pass around for your villages convenience!" Sakura's mouth parted lightly stunned seeing someone stick up for her, much less Tsunade off all people.

"But she shouldn't-"

"Clearly Sakura Haruno can do whatever the hell she wants!" Tsunade snapped, "But she has gracefully decided to live within my village, and you all will respect that, or you will have me to deal with."

"But she is the Reaper-!" Onoki spat, "-you can't have that kind of power-"

Sakura sighed; this is the reason she got dragged into this meeting? Kakashi's eye instantly locked onto her as Sakura got up from the couch and moved to stand beside Tsunade.

"Re-Reaper!" Onoki gasped once Sakura appeared on the screen.

"Has it ever occurred to you-?" Sakura questioned, "-that you all handed me the wolfs clothing and I just simply put it on and continued to hang out with my sheep?"

"What?" Onoki asked looking confused,

"Of course." Sakura sighed; he wasn't the brightest tool in the shed.

"Why are you inside the leaf village Reaper!?" Onoki sneered.

"Why haven't I come and burned your village down yet?" Sakura counted, sending shivers through the village leaders. "There are a lot of questions I could ask."

"If you inside the Leaf Village-" Gaara spoke up, "-who is keeping the Waterfall Village in check?"

"What if Purgatory rises!?" Onoki dramatically gasped, putting his hands on his face. Sakura and Tsunade watched as the village leaders stirred uncomfortable at the thought of Purgatory hanging over their heads once again.

"What if Commander Dawn allows-"

"Purgatory will not rise!" Sakura shouted over the mixed voices. The power that laced through Sakura's voice caused Kakashi to shift from foot to foot as he felt himself heat up.

"How do you know?" A questioned, "Your no longer inside-"

"Commander Dawn will never purposely allow Purgatory to return." Sakura stated.

"How do you-"

"Because Dawn knows if she does then I will personally ride into her village and bring what I built crumbling down." Sakura glared into the screens. "Now is there an actual issue going on with any of you that entitles help from the Leaf Village or can you all just fuck off already?"

"Sakura-" Tsunade whispered at her choice of language.

"No-" Sakura heard one answer, she took it and ran with it quickly ending the video chat with the village leaders. Once the screens went dark Sakura sighed, feeling slightly better.

"You just hung up on-"

"I sure did." Sakura nodded turning to leave the room.

"Where are you going!?" Tsunade called.

"To do my job?" Sakura shrugged placing her hand on the door handle until Kakashi gripped the side of his head, stumbling backwards. "Kakashi!?" Sakura breathed rushing to his side, she and Tsunade lowered him to sit on the floor.

"What's wrong Kakashi!?" Tsunade asked quickly taking his pulse.

"M-My head." Kakashi breathed out his exposed eye sealed shut as pain racked his skull. Tsunade breathed as she watched Sakura's eyes shift into familiar glittering Christmas Wreaths.

"Yeah..." Sakura muttered with a nod.

"Do you know what is happening with him?" Tsunade asked feeling hopeful.

"Yeah." Sakura breathed, "His mind is starting to collapse."

"Wh-What!?" Tsunade puttered, "A little more detail would be great!"

"Without Hanare around keeping together the glass perception of a different reality she had you trapped in, it's going to begin to crumble."

"What does that mean?" Tsunade asked worried.

"It means the fake altered memories Hanare placed inside his mind are going to begin to break apart, he should be able to tell what was real and what wasn't but this type of jutsu is rare and even I don't know much about it."

Kakashi looked up at Sakura as she placed both her hands on the sides of his masked face. She spoke more to Tsunade and ignored Kakashi's tired gaze, Sakura's warmth soaked through his mask warming his skin.

Kakashi understood what was happening to him now. Inside his bedroom this morning, his memories felt like they were shedding, and how his stomach soured...it all made sense now.

"I'm sorry." Sakura said turning to Kakashi, he looked at her. "There isn't much I can do."

"Why?" Tsunade asked,

"I can't reach into his head and pull out the glass shards of broken reality." Sakura answered, "Kakashi is just going to have to ride this out and let this process take its course-"

"It's ok-" Kakashi said reaching out without thinking and placed his hand over Sakura's. "-you being here is enough."

Tsunade puckered her lips, feeling awkward as she cleared her throat pulling the attention onto her.

"Uh, Kakashi why don't you just head home for the day and get some rest? Right Sakura?"

"Yeah." Sakura agreed, "That is probably the best thing you can do right now."

"Right." Kakashi breathed standing with Sakura and Tsunade's aid.

"Do you need help getting home?" Tsunade asked,

"I'll be fine-" Kakashi flashed a closed eye smile. "-thank you."

Sakura and Tsunade watched in silence as Kakashi turned and exited the room.

"I don't think Kakashi should be there tomorrow." Sakura commented after a quiet moment.

"Huh?"

"During the trade with the Lock Village-" Sakura clarified, "-he shouldn't be there."

"What!?" Tsunade laughed, "Why shouldn't he be-!?"

"His mind is scrambled-" Sakura said, "- we don't know how tangled he is with Hanare and-"

"Sakura." Tsunade rolled her eyes, "Your being paranoid."

"And your being too laid back." Sakura countered, "I'm tell you it's a bad idea for him-"

"He is going to be the next Hokage of this village-" Tsunade shut the conversation down. "-he has to be there."

"No, he doesn't." Sakura said, "Shinobi are my job, not yours and not his-"

"Sakura-" Tsunade sighed, "-can we continue this conversation with food, I am starving and eating for two."

"Yeah." Sakura tittered.

\----

After a brisk lunch with Tsunade, Sakura returned to her office knocking out the mindless tasks that needed to get done. After a couple hours Carver and Raiden came and scooped her up for dinner at Ichiraku Ramen where she found Naruto and Hinata waiting for them.

It was a mellow time filled with low level conversation, sadly though dinner had to come to an end and Sakura much to her dismay needed to return to her office to try to get as much work done as she possibly could so she could catch the leaf village up and get things into working order.

"Itachi?" Sakura asked seeing his long hair pulled back into a low ponytail, his back faced her as he walked towards the direction of his house. He was dressed in his ANBU gear, he turned hearing his name being called.

"Sakura?" Itachi asked facing her, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah?" She said, "Why wouldn't I be?"

"I uh..." Itachi blushed, recalling the feel of her soft lips against his. "...well, about last night-"

"It's fine." Sakura said,

"It-It is!?" Itachi breathed, fireworks sparked inside his stomach.

"Well yeah-" Sakura said, "-we were both drunk and-" Itachi felt like he got a left hook to the jaw, he stood feet apart of Sakura watching her talk but all he could feel was himself getting cast away inside the forever friend zone.

"Sakura I wasn't-"

"Shit." Sakura cursed seeing the time. "I have to get going."

"To where this late?"

"Shizune." Sakura answered, "She should be waiting for me in my office by now with the final details of tomorrows trade, but you agreed to come tomorrow right?"

"Yes." Itachi nodded, 

"Alright-" Sakura flashed a smile that made Itachi's knees weak, "I'll see you tomorrow!" Sakura called with a wave of her hand.

"Uh, yeah..." Itachi sighed watching Sakura walk away as his heart floated to the bottom of his stomach.


	19. Chapter 19

Carver sleepily blinked trying to wash away the burning sensation sleep leaves behind he yawned, scratching his back watching as Raiden and Naruto bang on Sakura's front door.

"Maybe she isn't home?" Sasuke guessed leaning against his apartment door.

"Or she is being an ass!" Raiden shouted at the wood.

"Let's go check her office before you hurt her front doors feelings." Carver said pulling Raiden's arm.

"Fine!" Raiden huffed; his hair ruffled.

As Naruto and his friends moved to leave the apartment building, Kakashi was trapped confound inside his home.

Kakashi leaned over the toilet in his bathroom dry heaving. 

The unrelenting pain thrashed inside his skull keeping him in the same place he has been in since he got home yesterday from the village leaders meeting. Kakashi gasped seeing an end to the recycled pain, relaxing as he collapsed against the bathroom wall, sweat glistened on his skin as he sucked in raspy breaths.

\----

Tsunade sipped on a fruit smoothie stepping onto the floor her office resided on mindlessly playing on her phone.

"You open it!" A voice harshly whispered, Tsunade looked up from the smooth screen to see Naruto, Carver and Raiden, as well as Hinata all huddled around Sakura's office.

"What's going on?" Tsunade questioned, causing a few of them to jump at the sudden noise.

"He-Hey Granny!" Naruto nervously suckled reaching behind him to rub the back of his neck.

"Why are you standing outside Sakura's door?" Tsunade went on questioning.

"Well..." Naruto trailed off.

"We went to her apartment this morning and banged on the stupid door for like an hour-" Raiden over exaggerated, "-but she wouldn't answer so thought maybe she got up early and went to her office since its new but once again, no answer!"

"Why don't you just go on in?" Tsunade wondered, "I would think you're the few people she wouldn't care to just walk in."

"Because...well..."

"They are scared too." Carver said.

"So are you!" Raiden snapped over his shoulder.

"Ugh." Tsunade groaned, moving passed them and through the unlocked door.

"But-!" Raiden said getting ready for a swirl wind of swear words but after a second was met with silence.

"Aw." Naruto smiled tilting his head, Raiden peeked into the naturally lit room. Sakura was indeed inside her office, she sat at her desk asleep.

"So, it begins." Carver joked looking at Raiden.

"Has she been here all night?" Hinata wondered.

"It wouldn't surprise me." Carver sighed, "This is her norm."

"But why?" Hinata asked.

"She is a workaholic." Raiden muttered, "So next question is, who is going to wake her up?"

"Not it!" Naruto said quickly touching his nose followed by Hinata.

"Such children-" Tsunade muttered under her breath as she walked forward to wake Sakura who leaned forward from her chair sleeping on the top of her desk. Tsunade hesitated for only a second, questioning herself if this was a smart idea or not...she shook her head clear and touched Sakura's left shoulder. "-Sakura?"

Tsunade's heart skipped seeing Sakura's emerald eyes snap open, she quickly removed her hand from her shoulder and stepped back.

"Good morning!" Raiden jumped as Sakura slowly sat up.

"Mm." Sakura hummed as a response.

"Did you sleep here all night?" Tsunade questioned.

"Um..." Sakura trailed off as her brain took its time waking up. "...yeah..." She answered scratching her head. "...what are you all doing here?"

"We were looking for you." Carver said stepping forward, "Good thing we came prepared."

"Huh?" Sakura blinked; Carver held out a takeout coffee cup waiting for Sakura to take.

"We got you breakfast!" Hinata said holding up a small bag as Naruto held the larger one.

"You didn't need to-"

"You summoned us on a mission-" Naruto jumped in, "-an S-Ranked mission! We wanted to get together eat and get prepared!"

"Uh..." Sakura said rubbing her shoulder. "...ok?" She said turning to reach for her phone which remained dead, "Fuck." She whispered under her breath, she forgot to grab her charger.

"Hey-" Raiden furrowed his brows staring Sakura, "-what the hell is that!?" He pointed directly at Sakura.

"Uh-" Carver tried to answer, "-a person?"

"No, you fucking twat!" Raiden glared at Carver, "Your arm!" Raiden said walking away from the food until he was side by side with Sakura and gripped her forearm.

Sakura rolled her eyes as Raiden scanned over the tattoo that rested on her skin.

"You got-!?" Naruto gasped seeing the ANBU mark on her arm.

"You never even got a Waterfall's tattoo-" Carver said looking at the black ink which faded into a dark blue. "-when did you get that?"

"Uh-" Sakura tried to recall, "-couple days ago."

"And we are just seeing this now!?" Raiden scattered,

"I have been wearing long sleeves." Sakura shrugged.

"Why do you look hotter now?" Carver muttered as Sakura looked around carelessly.

"I heard there was food?" Sakura changed the subject.

"Ye-Yeah!" Hinata said quickly picking up white bag which held eggs, back and pancakes.

"Thank you." Sakura said taking the takeout box.

"So how much work did you get done?" Raiden wondered looking at the neatly stacked files that were pushed off to the side of her chest.

"How much sleep did you get?" Carver asked a better question.

"I got all this finished." Sakura said placing her hand on the two-foot-tall stacks of different files.

"You-You got all that done in a single night!?" Tsunade muffled through the pancake in her mouth.

"Yeah." Sakura breathed leaning back in the chair. "Why?"

"How!?" Tsunade needed to know.

"Because I am good at what I do." Sakura smirked.

As everyone ate their warm breakfast, Sakura explained the plan on how they were going to deal with the lock village.

"Bringing Hanare out of the jail seems like a huge risk to me." Carver said, "Even if you burn her mind."

"The Lock Village is good-" Tsunade said, "-they would know if we sent a clone in Hanare's place."

"Yeah but still..."

"I understand your worried." Sakura looked at Carver, "But we are all going to be there, I wouldn't be pulling Hanare if I thought there was any chance, we couldn't handle it."

"Your right." Carver said, "We are pretty awesome."

"Yes." Sakura chuckled before glancing towards the clock. "Alright-" Sakura said standing, "-you all need to return home and get dressed-"

"But we want to go with you to Hanare-" Raiden whined but Sakura cut him off,

"No." She declared, "You four need to go get dressed and ready and be at the gates of the village in two hours, or you'll be left behind." The authority lacing Sakura's voice sent shivers through Naruto and Hinata who weren't used to hearing it.

"Alright..." Naruto muttered not happy he couldn't go with Sakura, but he wanted to be dressed and ready to make her proud of him!

"We will see you at the gates." Carver nodded as he and the other three walked from the room.

"You should go home-" Sakura said to Tsunade.

"I am going." Tsunade left no room for argument.

"You're not going to want to-"

"I can handle myself."

"Alright." Sakura shrugged, seeing no reason to fight Tsunade. If she wanted to tag along, fuck it, it was no skin of Sakura's back.

The Hokage and Commander of the leaf village trailed swiftly through the waking streets, they reached the jail in record time as they made their way down into the tunnels with no conversation, the guards nodded at the two women.

"Are you sure about this?" Tsunade questioned one last time.

"I am." Sakura said,

"Your decision to do this isn't just because she was with Kakashi, right?"

"Of course not." Sakura turned to look sharply at Tsunade, "If you think I can't separate my personal and professional life than maybe I shouldn't be-"

"I just-" Tsunade calmed Sakura down by touching her shoulder, "-wanted to make sure, I meant no disrespect."

"I don't want to do this." Sakura muttered, "I just got back to whatever stable state I am in...I don't want use up all my chakra on a twat I'd rather watch rot away or just kill."

"I know." Tsunade nodded, "Thank you for doing this."

"You don't have to thank me for doing my job." Sakura told Tsunade as the two of them turned a darkened corner.

"I know, I just wanted to make sure you're ok and-" Tsunade rambled on.

Sakura looked up from the numbly staring off into space, her heart slammed to a brisk halt as Kakashi's kiss flashed through her mind.

"Tsunade." Sakura stated.

"Yeah?" The blonde looked up from gazing at the floor to Sakura, who turned to her with a hard expression.

"Does this prove my point to you?" Sakura gestured before them, Tsunade frowned until she looked forward and caught her breath.

Before the two of them, Kakashi stood in front of Hanare's cell low conversation could be hear from the two. 

"Kakashi!" Sakura called, stepping up her pace. She reached his side quickly, grabbing his arm and pulling him away from the jail cell.

"What?" Kakashi asked looking down at the pinkette, "What are you-?"

"You can't be down here!" Tsunade breathed, "You need to be as far away from her as possible!"

"But I-"

"Go Kakashi." Tsunade cut him off, pointing to the direction the exit was. "Now."

Kakashi glanced towards the cell before turning and walking down the hallway.

"Sakura I-"

"Let's get this over with." Sakura aggressively replied as she moved to the cell door holding the key in her hand.

Sakura gazed through the metal bars. Inside the cell sat a toilet, sink and a mattress that laid on the stone floor with one of Sakura's favorite chew toys sitting on top of it. Every fiber inside Sakura's body wanted to fly through these bars and finish tearing her into pieces.

"I wondered when you would swing by to end what you started." Hanare's arrogant voice caused Sakura to smile, Tsunade frowned seeing this wild expression in Sakura's glowing green eyes.

"I'm not here to kill you." Sakura said looking down at the woman.

"Oh?" Hanare coughed,

"Yeah-" Sakura nodded, "-you're just going to wish I was." Sakura entered the jail cell, closing the metal door behind her.

"Are you here for round two?" Hanare stood from the mattress, her pants and shirt were coated in dirt and who knew what else. Her long hair tangled and unkempt, her skin grayish from lack of sun light.

"Not quite." Sakura replied as her eyes shifted, glowing against the darkness the engulfed the jail cell.

"Are you just here because Kakashi keeps coming down here to see me?" Hanare sneered, "Your jealous he wants me and not you?"

Sakura's chest squeezed as she discovered this was not the first time Kakashi had wondered down here, his kiss with her replayed inside Sakura's mind with hundreds of questions spinning off it but it didn't matter how she felt in this moment. Sakura had a job to do and a village to watch out for.

"Tell me-" Hanare said with a belligerent tone as she quickly backing away from Sakura, "-does it hurt?"

"Hm?"

"Sleeping at night without him, knowing every time you look at Kakashi, he is thinking of me?"

"Don't flatter yourself-" Sakura smirked, "-I don't break that easy."

Tsunade stood outside the jail cell, she took in a deep breath as she licked her lips. Tsunade jumped, her phone shook out of her hands as Tsunade ran to the front of the jail cell where she saw Sakura held Hanare by the front of her shirt. Hanare screamed as her veins felt like they were being replaced with ice, her brain felt like electricity was being wired straight into her spine.

Tsunade had to look away from the deathly expression plastered all over Hanare's face who screamed as if Sakura was stabbing a knife through her flesh. Tsunade reached up placing her hands over her ears trying to muffle out Hanare's macabre screams.

\----

Two hours flew through the leaf village, and just as requested the shinobi handpicked to assist in the lock village trade off all stood around the front of the gates waiting for their commander. Many leaf shinobi were curious as well as skeptical about Sakura and how she would do as their bran new commander, but they were all excited to see her unwrapped and out of the box.

Tsunade had to leave the tunnels while Sakura burned Hanare's mind. The woman's screams were just too much for Tsunade to take, so she changed her clothing and was now standing among the waiting shinobi.

"Tsunade-" Kakashi spoke up from standing beside the hokage.

"No." Tsunade instantly said, "We are not going to have this conversation here."

"But I just-" Kakashi wanted to say but Tsunade turned glaring upward into his eye.

"You were way out of line!" She harshly whispered, trying to stay out of ear shot of everyone around them. "You had no business being down there near Hanare, I don't know if she still has her claws in you or if you generally cared for her but-"

"I-"

"-but I don't care." Tsunade finished her statement not letting Kakashi get a word in. "We have a very important mission on our hands, getting Riichi back is all we can focus on right now."

"Of course." Kakashi said before turning his head following the groups stunned gaze.

Sakura walked towards them; two black ops walked behind her with Hanare in between them. Kakashi eye widened taking in Sakura's stunning appearance.

Carver stood beside Naruto and Raiden snacking on a protein bar waiting for the show to kick start, he slothfully glanced around but quickly did a double take looking at multiple men who all stared drooling over Sakura's captivating appearance. He sighed shaking his head, knowing all too well what spell they were being placed under.

Sakura wore her tight-fitting black pants that were tucked into her matching boots, due to the humid day Sakura wore a short sleeve short under her armor. Her long hair was pulling up and out of the way with her sword resting on her back.

"Damn she looks good." Raiden muttered seeing how her enchanting emerald eyes and natural pink hair seemed to slow against her black clothing.

"Yeah." Carver muttered annoyed, "She always does."

Sakura furrowed her brows as she walked to the small group of waiting shinobi, Sakura would have believed Tsunade was standing around with the shinobi because she was here to send them off with encouraging words and Sakura would have believed it if not for Tsuande being dressed in her jonin gear, with Kakashi standing beside her.

"What um...uh..." Sakura blinked looking at Tsunade, "...can I talk to you?"

"Sure." Tsunade blinked.

"Don't take your eyes off her." Sakura ordered the black ops behind her.

"Yes Commander!" They nodded. Sakura and Tsunade walked a handful of yards from the group of ninjas.

"Everything ok-"

"What the hell are you doing here?" Sakura quickly snapped.

"What do you mean?" Tsunade asked, "I am waiting for-"

"You're not going!" Sakura laughed.

"What?"

"Your fucking six months pregnant, no way in hell will I let you go."

"I can handle myself just fine, I am going."

"It's not a question of if you can handle yourself Tsuande, you don't need to go this is reckless and just plain stupid-"

"I am the Hokage-"

"Good for you, do you want a cookie?" Sakura brushed over, "And why is Kakashi here? He-"

"We may need him."

"Why?" Sakura asked, "For an unneeded double cross? Clearly, he still has hooks in him from Hanare, we don't-"

"Sakura, do you trust me?" Tsunade smiled.

"Yes, I do but-"

"I am the Hokage, I don't know how Kaguya does things but here, I am on the front lines with you."

"Your six months-"

"I know, but you're going to be there. I know you'll have my back."

"I-" Sakura flustery sighed. "-I don't like this."

"That's ok." Tsunade grinned, "We can both not like this together."

"I really wish you would stay."

"And I wish I had my slim body but hey-!" Tsunade joked. "-here we are!"

Sakura took in a deep breath through her nose before turning away from Tsunade and walked back to the gates.

"Huh?" Tsunade said, but quickly followed.

"Itachi-!" Sakura called out, "-Kakashi, you're going to be on Tsunade."

"I don't need-" Tsuande went to argue but snapped her mouth shut reading the vexed expression on Sakura's face. "-alright." The blonde sighed,

"Let's move out!" Sakura called over the muttered voices inside the crowd, Sakura turned taking the lead with Tsunade close on her heels. The members of kohana eleven, Asuma, Guy and a few of their other peers all ended their conversations and began following the martch.

\----

Kakashi kept his eye on Sakura as he stood beside Tsunade as they reached the edge of their territory. Naruto stood next to Hinata as well as his parents investigating the clearing thick and luscious forest circled around the leaf shinobi. They stood in silence watching the bridge running over a rushing river which led out of leaf domain, this was the direction the lock village should be coming from.

"Aren't they supposed to be here by now?" Tsunade muttered looking at Sakura.

"Yeah." She answered never removing her eyes from the bridge.

"What if they don't show?" Itachi question,

"Then..." Sakura trailed off thinking about that possibility. "...they will get a visit from me."

"Sakura-" Itachi stepped closer not liking the sound of this plan. Kakashi watched Itachi with a sharpened eye the closer he got to Sakura the more his blood boiled inside his veins.

"Look." Minato commented, guesting with his head towards the bridge. Sakura turned seeing a group marching towards them on the horizon.

"About time." Carver muttered as Tsunade breathed a slight sigh of relief, she didn't want Sakura leaving to go after anyone.

"Are we sure about this?" Kushina whispered.

"Little late to go back now." Minato smiled down at his wife; Sakura glanced catching Hanare in her vision, the green haired woman looked to be staring off confused into the distance which is a possibly side effect of burning memories away.

"No one moves unless they fuck up-" Sakura ordered, "-and cover Tsunade at all cost."

"Wait, what!?" Hinata said watching as Sakura broke off from their group before anyone could protest, Carver and Raiden flanked both her sides.

"Son of a bitch." Itachi cursed watching as Sakura stepped onto the bridge where the lock village had stopped moving, not daring to enter the leaf territory.

"Good morning!" An elderly man greeted; Sakura kept her face blank as she stopped walking. Carver and Raiden hung back a few feet giving Sakura space.

"A bit much don't you think?" The elder asked looking behind Sakura, Carver and Raiden at the dozen shinobi all glaring at him. "I know you-" The man nodded at Sakura, "-you're the Reaper, am I corrected?"

"You are." Sakura gave a nod.

"Interesting. I am confused, I thought the Reaper died years ago?"

"Seems you didn't get the memo." Sakura said,

"Hm?"

"I'm back from the dead." Sakura smirked at the wretched expression the man baked onto his face.

"What um...what are you doing here?" The man who Sakura believed to be of the head members of the lock village questioned. "Are you here doing the Leaf a favor or...?"

"Wow." Sakura chuckled, "Your spies have really been slacking huh?"

"My...what?"

"Or were you were solely betting on Hanare you give you all the Intel on the Leaf Village?"

"I...well...this has nothing to do with the Waterfall Village or you so just hand over Hanare and-"

"This has everything to do with me." Sakura said, "Considering you kidnapped one of my shinobi and all."

"Your Commander of the Leaf Village?"

"Not as slow as you look." Sakura said,

"I see..." The elderly man turned back to glance at the handful of men behind him, he pulled his attention back onto Sakura as he licked his lips. "...how about you bring Hanare over here and then we can do business-"

"I have a better idea-" Sakura split, "-get those damn handcuffs off my shinobi, then we can talk."

"Why don't we set them free at the same time?" The man countered, "Fair is fair after all-"

"You captured my shinobi; you sent your spy into my village. Who do you think needs to show more trust here?" Sakura questioned.

"Ah, well, yes..." He muttered something Sakura couldn't catch, after a moment two lock ninja pushed forward a man handcuffed and blind folded. Carver and Raiden glanced at each other as Riichi had his hands blind fold ripped off.

"Ah, yes well..." He said trailing off as he unlocked Riichi's handcuffs. Once the cuffs were off Riichi rubbed his sore wrists. The freeing sun burned his eyes, Riichi quickly shielded his face as he used his hands to cover his head. "...now that your man is freed how about we talk about a treaty between our villages?" Carver and Raiden glanced at each other confused as Sakura raised an eyebrow.

"Excuse me?" Sakura said,

"A village treaty!" The man smiled wide, "I think we would make great allies!" Sakura blinked staring at the old man, wondering if he had already forgotten that they were standing here because they kidnapped her shinobi. Sakura's lips parted to respond but she closed them feeling befuddled.

"Riichi-" Sakura called out, "-behind me."

"Wait-" The elder went to grab Riichi making Sakura move forward. The lock village leader missed Riichi by inches but caught Sakura's wrist by mistake. Carver and Raiden quickly pulled their swords into play and they braced themselves to fly forward as Naruto flinched wishing to be beside Sakura.

"Wait!" The elder man quickly let go of Sakura, holding his hands up for everyone to see. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to grab you-"

"No, you just meant to grab my shinobi instead and hold him hostage." Sakura said.

The fire inside Sakura's eyes captured the old man's heart igniting it spinning it in fire. He oddly found himself fearing this small woman for a moment.

"You-You have your ninja." The man said trying to bounce back, "Can we now talk about a treaty between our villages?"

"What in the-?" Riichi went to ask what in the hell his old man was talking about but was cut off by Carver lightly hitting his shoulder, signaling him to shut up.

"Maybe your Hokage can come over here and we can all discuss this like adults?"

"I am the Commander of the Leaf Village." Sakura stated, "All peace treaties will go through me first before they land on the Hokage's desk."

"Oh." The elder blinked, "I haven't thought the detailed through yet, but we can stand here and-"

"The Leaf has zero interest in creating a correlation with your village." Sakura said cutting the elder man off.

"Wha-What!?" He gasped, "Why on earth-!?"

"It's simple." Sakura said, "Your village holds no real value."

"What--how dare you, you little bitc-"

"Am I wrong?" Sakura questioned. "Isn't that why you sent your spy to my village and every other village that has placed a warrant out for Hanare's arrest?"

"I don't know what you're talking about!"

"Cut the bullshit." Sakura spat out, "I got inside your little spies mind before I fried it, I know how your village works and I honestly have no idea how I haven't set my sights on you before now."

"What do you mean you fried her mind!?" A tall man, holding the same age as Sakura stepped forward.

"Ike." The elder snapped, wanting the boy to step back in line.

"What did you do to Hanare!?" The boy known as 'Ike' stepped beside the old man.

"You're lucky if she can even remember her own name." Sakura flashed a darkened smile.

"What!?" Ike gasped, icy water filling his heart.

"Come on-" Sakura sneered a smile over her lips, "-she went a full round with the Reaper. You're lucky she isn't sitting over there as a human scarecrow."

"You're sick!" Ike cried out.

"Ah." Sakura said, "Was she your fuck buddy too?"

"I will kill you-!"

"Yeah girlfriend then-" Sakura nodded to herself, "-did you know she was fucking her way through the fire nation?"

"Black crow!" Ike yelled out against the old man complaints confusing Sakura, she was about to ask if he was having a mini stoke and if he could smell toast until commotion behind them turned her head.

Two leaf shinobi Sakura didn't personally know had turned on Naruto and the others and were now beginning to attack them, Sakura turned about to run over to assist them.

"Don't turn your back on me!" Ike shouted, moving to strike.

"Sakura!" Raiden desperately called out, flashes of Sakura lying dead on the medic's stretch plagued his mind as the handful of lock shinobi on the bridge bolted forward onto them.

Sakura spun around in time to block Ike's blade with her own, the echo of their metal swords shattered the peaceful nature.

Raiden's panicked voice stole Kakashi's attention, he breathed out seeing Sakura, Carver and Raiden were getting surrounded by the lock ninja. Itachi and Minato took down the two-faced ninja, as Kakashi covered Tsunade.

"Tsunade stay here with Naruto." Kakashi ordered.

"What!?" Naruto and Tsunade protested.

"We don't have time for arguments." Minato agreed as the leaf jonin locked their sights onto the bridge. "We need to get Commander Har-" Minato was cut off by the bridge where Sakura, Carver and Raiden stood upon crumbling apart.

The loud explosion cracked through the hot air of the morning. Kakashi's lips parted as he watched the bridge collapse taking everyone on it down with its shattered pieces.

"Sakura!" Hinata cried out, taking steps to run after her but lock ninja pulled themselves from the surrounding vegetation.

"What is this!?" Minato gasped seeing dozens of shinobi instantly surround them.

"It seems we have been standing inside a trap this entire time." Kakashi answered.

"Black crow was a code word." Tsunade realized as she felt her heart rate spike as she touched her stomach through the thick flak jacket. She understood now why Sakura so badly wanted her to remain inside the village.

"Damnit!" Naruto cursed looking around at all the obstacles blocking him from checking on his friends!

"No!" Lee cried as he was kicked in the chest, he flew backwards into the soft grass. Naruto spun around in time to see Hanare get freed by lock shinobi and scooped up.

"Hey!" Naruto yelled running over, but four lock shinobi jumped in the way giving the ninja holding Hanare the time he needed to get away. "Fuck me!"

"Oh, we're gonna do a lot more than that." One lock ninja mocked.

"Eh!?" Naruto flinched; his butt instinctually clinched as he backed away standing beside Sasuke.


	20. Chapter 20

P.O.V. Kakashi Hatake

My throat felt parched as I pried my eyes open, the suffocating pain that ate away everything that formed me into who I was began to eased its raging havoc on my brain. I felt utterly exhausted as I pulled my tired bones off my bathroom floor.

I knew needed to get dressed.

Tsunade was expecting me at the front gates of the village soon, she wanted me to attend the lock village sting. With all my strength I was finally able to get into bedroom and began changing into my standard jonin gear.

If I was being honest, I will admit I am still a little surprised Tsunade asked me to join them. Sakura did not have me on her list of recommended shinobi from the council that would follow her as she dealt with the lock village and Hanare.

I was glad to be going though, I would feel at ease being by Sakura's side during the tense situation. I wanted to be the first person Sakura turned to, but I understood why she didn't after everything that had happened. I reached up, placing my hand over my unmasked face.

I called her by that dastardly woman's name.

How could I have done that?

My stomach curdles as I recalled the past, I grabbed the wall with my free hand as I felt my body dry heave at the thought of touching that woman in any way. Jolts of electricity shoot through my arms and legs, it burns and boils its way through my chest and up my diaphragm filling my head. My field of vision is tinged with red as the inside of my chest cavity feeling like a vacant void.

Clenching my teeth, I glared through a haze of pink, my heart clinched as I stormed from my apartment carelessly slamming my front door closed. All I could focus on was the pressurized rage building up inside my stomach as I swiftly made my way through the village and into the jail. Slipping past the guards was easy as my hands began to shake in anticipation as her cell drew near.

"Mm." Her voice sent a wave of revulsion through me. "I heard you had survived-" Hanare's voice filled the dreary hallways. "-I knew it was only a matter of time before you slipped your way down here."

Hanare rose from the mattress lying on the cracked stone floor. Her pale skin was dusted in dirt, the closer she got the more unpleasant smell of body odor waved through my mask.

"You used her." I bit down on my jaw as my fist tightened. "How could you?"

"Her?"

"You used the love I feel for Sakura Haruno against me."

"Oh that-" Hanare waved, "-yes, I did."

"But why!?" I snapped, anger spilling out.

"It was the only way to get inside your head."

"You didn't need to-"

"Yes, I did." Hanare chuckled, "I needed a way to blend into the village and what better way than to date the favorite man of the village?"

"I-"

"But-" Hanare sighed, "-you were still so in love with Commander Haruno even though it had been two years since her death. I didn't have time to wait around, a town nearby was on to me and so I needed to vanish fast."

"You used me."

"I can see your head is already breaking apart without me. I am shocked really that you're even standing right now, but I shouldn't expect nothing less from the famous Kakashi Hatake."

"You made me believe I was with her, this entire time I-"

"Your welcome."

"I wasn't thanking you for lying and deceiving me!"

"Don't be so sure about that." Hanare grinned.

"What does that mean?"

"You were easy to manipulate-" Hanare laughed, "-your mind was so eager for the distraction from Haruno's death it was practically begging me to put a jutsu inside it."

"I-"

"You wanted the sweet lies I built; you wanted the false reality which is why you didn't fight it. You wanted a world where your beloved pink haired soldier was still alive, a world where you hadn't hit rock bottom and drank yourself numb every night. You wanted a world where people still looked at you like you weren't a broken man."

"I-" For a moment I felt speechless as I tasted Hanare's words.

"You only started to push back when Commander Haruno annoyingly returned from the dead."

"I would never-" I said shaking my head, "-replace her with something so subsidiary like you. I would rather have lived-"

"Then why was it so easy to create an alternate reality where she still existed?" Hanare challenged.

"Sakura was the woman I wanted to make my wife." I growled gripping the cell bars, "Of course I wanted her back, but what you did is repugnant and unforgivable!"

"I'm not looking for forgiveness-" Hanare smiled, "-and I don't fully believe the look of repulsion in your eye when you look at me."

"What?"

"You were a pawn of mine yes, but it wasn't all fake." Hanare breathed, "I generally do care for you, Kakashi."

"I don't-"

"No?" Hanare blinked, "When what was all that steamy love making, we did-"

"I thought you were Sakura!" I snapped,

"Are you truly going to stand there and claim to have zero feelings for me?"

"Absolutely." I nodded.

"What your feeling now my dear-" Hanare tilted her head much like Sakura did. "-is denial."

"I am not in-"

"Sakura Haruno may be alive again; she may have broken my hold over you and your mind might be shattering apart with the truth but within our saccharine time together, you grew feelings for me all on your own. What we shared together; it wasn't all the jutsu-"

"Enough!" I flared, "The only feelings I have towards you is this loathing mortification with the only positive knowing you're going to live out the rest of your days living inside this cage."

"Is that what you think?" A sly smile sneered itself over her whoreish face.

"What-" I went to question her,

"Kakashi!" Sakura snapped; her voice sent lively shivers through my body. Hanare rolled her eyes, turning to sit back down on the used stained mattress. Sakura reached my side rather quickly, my skin melted against her touch as he pulled me from away from the face of Hanare's cell.

"What?" I blinked looking down at the pinkette, "What are you-?" I wanted to know why she was down here and not prepping for the village trade.

"You can't be down here!" Tsunade breathed standing on my free side, "You need to be as far away from her as possible!"

"But I-" I went to explain why I was here.

"Go Kakashi." Tsunade cut me off, pointing to the direction the exit was. "Now." Her tone was deadly, daring me to argue. I licked my lips; the disappointed look in Sakura's emerald eyes was too much for me to bare, I was still so angry with myself for accidentally calling her by a different name, the pain inside Sakura's eyes when I called her Hanare, made my heart feel shredded. 

I sighed glancing back at Hanare's cell with an uneasy feeling bottled inside my chest. Hanare's words dig deeper than I cared to admit.

Had I formed feelings for her while she mascaraed around inside my head as Sakura? And why didn't Hanare believe she wouldn't be inside that cage the rest of her life?


	21. Chapter 21

Time is such a problematic bitch; she zooms through without anyone noticing until Kakashi stood back to back with Guy who struck down another lock shinobi. Guy let out a hearty laugh from deep within his chest, calling out his new score of how many enemies he has taken down verses Kakashi. This was a game these two overly competitive ninja play. The silver haired ninja's heart was palpitating due to the sweet adrenaline coursing through his circulatory system as he scanned the surrounding area.

"Where is Commander Haruno?" Guy questioned seeing the sun had fallen lower in the sky but still no Sakura, Carver or even Raiden had appeared from the collapsed bridge.

"That river has strong currents." Asuma called out, "They could have all been washed away."

"Or they all drowned." Kurenai muttered being her bright sunshiny self.

"We need to get people down there-" Tsunade breathed her eyes returning every couple seconds to the broken bridge as if Sakura would be standing there waving at them. "-Sakura used a lot of chakra before this-"

"What!?" Kakashi turned,

"The thing she did on Hanare, I guess it uses a lot of chakra to preform and-"

"Why is she here then!?" Kakashi snapped feeling the perturbation began to thickly layer itself.

Where on earth was Sakura!?

\----

Down the surging river and to the left is where Sakura, Carver and Raiden stood on dry ground. Asuma had been correct, the leaf shinobi along with the lock ninja were gobbled up by the ravenous river.

"Ugh!" Raiden gasped in air, collapsing onto the coarse grass.

"Ok-" Carver breathed soaking wet as he crawled from the river. "-now I'm pissed."

"Where are the Lock shinobi?" Raiden asked rolling onto his stomach.

"I don't know." Sakura said looking around, "I was too busy pulling your extra-large ass out of the current." Sakura squeezed the unwanted water from the strands of her long hair as she analyzed the forest around them.

"They couldn't have gotten that far." Carver sighed sitting up.

"They planned this." Sakura shook her head, "We should have seen this coming."

"From a tiny village in the middle of butt fuck nowhere?" Raiden said pulling himself up. "How the fuck were we suppose to see a double cross coming?"

"How in the fuck didn't you two know spies were inside the village?" Sakura countered, "You have lived here for how long?"

"Oh, come on!" Raiden said, "Your blaming us for this!?"

"A little-" Sakura shook her head. "-yeah."

"I call bullshit on that-!" Raiden pouted, "-Commander!"

"I just took over the title." Sakura reminded, "So wipe that expression off your face before I help you do it."

"Whatever!" Raiden groaned, "Where the fuck are, we anyway?"

"Miles from where the others are." Sakura said looking around.

"Great!" Raiden threw his arms upward into the air. "-just fucking great!"

"We need to get back." Carver said, "Tsunade is there."

"This is why I didn't fucking want her to come!" Sakura cursed to herself.

"This ain't on you." Carver told her, "You know how stubborn that woman is."

"Naruto, Itachi, Kakashi, Minato-" Raiden listed, "-they are all there with Tsunade. She will be fine-"

"For once you're right." Sakura muttered, "We need to focus more on where the lock shinobi went."

"Why?"

"If they planned to blow up the bridge with them and us both on it then they must have set up a camp nearby to retreat at or something."

"Good idea." Carver muttered. "But where do we start?"

"Down river wouldn't be smart, it's too far." Sakura muttered to herself as she looked around.

"I guess we can pick a random direction to start." Carver said ringing out his pants leg. "What does your gut say?"

"My gut says it is wet-" Raiden answered still pouting, "-and a little hungry."

"Not you." Carver sighed, "The only thing your gut is useful for is finding your next meal."

"Are you guys trying to tell me something?" Raiden asked,

"What?" Carver shook his head, "What the fuck-?"

"Are you saying I am fat!?" Raiden cried with tears pooling into his eyes.

"How the fuck did you conclude that from what I just said?" Carver questioned.

"Because Sakura is over there saying I am extra-large and-"

"I know where they are." Sakura interrupted.

"Huh?" Carver and Raiden blinked confused.

"How?"

"There is an old fishing spot near by-"

"I am pretty sure they ain't fishing-" Carver said.

"I could go for some smoked salmon right about now." Raiden added.

"No, you twat-" Sakura rolled her eyes. "-down the river a bit there use to be a popular fishing spot, but it got abandoned before I was banished."

"You think that's where they are?"

"This river runs past it; if shit hit the fan the lock shinobi could have jumped into the river using it as an express way to get to their camp-"

"To bail or get the backup they need." Carver realized. "That's why they blew up the damn bridge, the leader was on it!"

"We need to get moving and be careful-" Sakura said, "-they are going to be on the lookout for us."

"But what about getting back to Tsunade and the others?" Raiden questioned.

"Like you said-" Sakura replied, "-she has all the backup she needs." A deep dread filled Sakura as she, Carver and Raiden broke into a rundown stream. Sakura was praying that Kakashi hadn't turned onto the leaf shinobi in order to save Hanare.

Carver and Raiden ran behind Sakura along the dazzling blue river as the sun shined down onto them. Raiden glanced at Sakura's damp hair as a smile formed on his lips, this felt like familiar old times.

"Get down!" Carver harshly whispered, pulling Raiden and Sakura's arms roughly causing all three of him to collapse onto each other on the forest ground behind a bundle of bushes.

"Ow." Raiden moaned landing on a broken stick, Sakura recovered quickly shooting an annoyed look at Carver until she heard the footsteps. Sakura pulled her eyes to the small path between the trees they had been avoiding.

"Is that-?" Raiden whispered watching two lock shinobi running past them with one dazed out Hanare in their inventory.

"Hanare." Sakura answered, "How the hell did they-?"

"There must have been an ambush waiting after the bridge was taken out." Carver muttered, "Looks like we missed all the fun."

"I wouldn't be so sure of that." Sakura said nodding her head to follow the lock ninja, they could lead them to their base.

Carver, Raiden and Sakura hung back quietly following the two shinobi who held Hanare in their possession. After two miles sure enough, the shinobi stopped at the old fishing spot Sakura remembered. There was a small wooden building which had long began its decaying process, a small campfire was lit with a dozen lock shinobi standing around waiting for orders.

The two ninja Sakura and the others followed slowed their pace as Hanare was placed on her feet the village elder who Sakura had her pleasant conversation with walked out of the crumbling building.

Carver glanced at Sakura, what was the plan? Sakura smirked at him in return as she gestured for him to go first.

"Oh, it's been a minute-" Carver smirked as he and the others emerged from the forest brush.

"Leaf shinobi!" The head of the lock ninja jumped to his feet, "How did you-"

"You have something of mine." Sakura said taking a step forward.

"You-You have your shinobi-!" The elder man sputtered.

"That's not why we are here." Carver said, resting his sword on his shoulder.

"Then why are you-?"

"You have my new chew toy." Sakura cocked her head to the side.

"What?" The elder blinked, "Ha-Hanare?"

"Bingo." Raiden nodded, "Your best bet right now, is to hand her over before we-"

"Yeah-Yeah." The elder waved his wrinkled hand, "You'll let us go-"

"Does that sound like something I would do?" Sakura turned to Raiden who laughed.

"That is not what we were going to say." Raiden called,

"Oh?" The elder blinked confused, "Then what were you going to say, because nothing you do will make me hand over Hanare to you!"

"You act like she is worth something." Carver said lowering his sword.

"Of course, she is!" The elder scoffed, "She is a part of the Lock-"

"She has never stepped foot inside your village." Sakura said, "You only want her because you believe she could still give you the Intel she has collected from the villages she has hit."

"No-" The elder man nervously laughed, "-she is-"

"A squeaker toy-" A nefarious smile arose on Sakura's face, "-without a squeaker."

"What does that-"

"Give the spy over-" Carver sighed annoyed; he was feeling on edge. The three of them were here and not with the others. If these lock shinobi were strong enough to take Hanare from Naruto and the others...were they all still ok? "-or it's open season!"

"There's a dozen of us and only three of you!" A lock shinobi standing on the side lines laughed,

"Correction." Raiden said pulling two kunai from his pouch. "There is only a dozen of you, and three of us."

"I love when they forget what I am." Sakura said glancing at Carver.

"Alright-" Raiden stepped froward to stand beside Sakura. "-let's make this quick."

"Why do you other plans?" Sakura wondered pulling her silver kunai's out to play.

"Actually-" Raiden went to say,

"Your special time alone doesn't count." Carver joked.

"I do not have special time!" Raiden snapped.

"Mhm." Carver hummed, "We use to live with you remember. You walking into the bathroom and letting the shower run for only thirty seconds is-"

"I-It is longer than thirty seconds!" Raiden's voice was high pitched.

"Right..." Carver drew out.

"What is happening!?" The elder snapped looking between the three-leaf shinobi.

"Our favorite tactic." Carver answered,

"Wha-" Before the old man could finish scrunching his face and get the rest of his word out, Sakura and Raiden swiftly flung six kunai forward hitting five unsuspecting ninjas, three fell to the forest floor defeated.

"What the-?" A few shinobi stepped backwards seeing the leaf ninja had vanished from sight. "-where did they go!?"

"Run!" A panicked voice cried.

"No one retreats!" The elder snapped, "We will take them down!"

"How can we-" The lock ninja who questioned his leader's voice was cut off by a gargled cry. The elder spun around to see Raiden standing behind the shinobi with his sword protruding through the ninja's chest.

Raiden's eyes glowed with vexation as he locked his sight onto the supposed leader.

"You tried to blow my friends up." Raiden allowed the departed corpse to slide off his sword.

"No-" Sakura called ducking a blade, she hastily kicked the legs out from the shinobi, spun around letting two kunai fly into the chests of two oncoming men. She pulled her sword forward, slicing the shinobi who tried to get back up. "-we need him alive." She explained to Raiden's annoyed face.

"Why!?" Raiden stomped his foot. "He tried to-"

"Just capture him!" Sakura waved her hand as the elder turned to flee.

"Why do I get the old fuck!?"

"Ha!" Carver laughed jumping over a fallen ninja. "How many times have you had to say that-"

"Shut up Carver!" Raiden snapped running after the elder.

Sakura and Carver finished off the lock ninja who huddled around the makeshift base.

"Well that was fast." Carver looked around.

"I bet you hear that a lot." Sakura muttered.

"I do not!"

"Oh?" Sakura turned. "You haven't been getting laid?"

"Yes, I have but they don't-"

"Where's Hanare?" Sakura asked scanning the dead bodies.

"Fuck." Carver breathed seeing the missing spy.

"Go after Raiden and help-"

"He doesn't need a babysitter-" Carver said. Sakura and Carver stared at each other for a moment. "-yeah alright." Carver sighed turning on his heel running in the direction he saw Raiden run.

With a shake of her head and a huff of air from her chest, Sakura turned on her heel running in the opposite direction in hopes she could track where the missing spy could have wondered off to.

With the aid of impressions resting inside the dirt and freshly broken twigs, Sakura knew there were two people abruptly moving in the direction towards the leaf village.

Sakura used her arms shielding her face from the prickly vegetation as she dashed through the thick overgrown brush. She stumbled out of the forest into a clearing laced with tall grass rising to her knees. She looked around and spotted her targets running up the steep hill, as Sakura ran after them, she concluded they knew where they were going, this was their last resort.

"Fleeing so soon?" Sakura called out once on top the hill, her voice froze Hanare and the masked shinobi who aided her, he was the one to turn and throw the first punch. Sakura moved out of the way of the upper cut, "We haven't even gotten to the good part yet."

"Monster!" The mask shinobi spat through his chipped teeth.

"Flattery won't get you anywhere." Sakura smiled blocking his punches.

"I am not-!" The ninja blushed under his mask looking into Sakura's incandescent eyes, he marveled inside her beauty. Sakura blinked, lightly confused by the ninja's stunned stature.

"Are you going to try to kiss me?" Sakura teased.

"I-I-!" The man stuttered "-ugh..." He looked down at the kunai digging into his toned abdomen. He looked at Sakura with accusing eyes as he fell backwards.

"Hm." Sakura sighed looking up from the expired ninja. "That was easy."

"What are you?" Hanare breathed stepping back as Sakura moved towards her.

"Oh, you can talk." Sakura said lightly surprised Hanare wasn't a drooling potato.

"Yes." Hanare glared pulling a foot-long sword out.

"Really?" Sakura nodded towards the toothpick.

"Your plan to kill me-"

"Huh?" Sakura tilted her head. "I wasn't trying to kill you, trust me if I wanted you dead, you'd be dead right now."

"What did you do to me?" Hanare breathed, "Why can't I remember-"

"Because you decided to step into my village and become a threat." Sakura shrugged, her shoulder tense as she began to feel the toll of overusing her chakra begins to brush over her.

"You-"

"If you come quietly-" Sakura said running her tongue over her lips. "-I won't kill you."

"What?" Hanare laughed, "You'll just let me sit the rest of my life rotting away inside a cell?"

"Yes." Sakura said. "It's more than what your friends have."

"You killed them..."

"We did." Sakura nodded. "Be smart and-"

"No!" Hanare shook her head which throbbed from Sakura's recent work.

"Don't do this to him." Sakura said after a moment. "He doesn't deserve this." The two-women stared at each other as wind blew through their hair.

"I had a jutsu on him, it wasn't real-"

"I was inside your head." Sakura stated, "I know you formed feelings for him."

"Kakashi is a great man." Hanare replied.

"Then why do this?" Sakura questioned, "Are you willing to give him up for a village you have never stepped a foot inside?"

"Yes." Hanare nodded, "You out of everyone here must know the reasons."

"Loyalty." Sakura replied, "They drilled it into your head when your young, I know because I myself have done it to hundreds of soldiers. But that doesn't mean the training always sticks-"

"I have to-!"

"No one is holding a gun to your head right now making you do a damn thing!" Sakura snapped, "I am giving you a very rare chance to keep your life because of him."

"My training is all I am..."

"No, it is not. Your past or where you come from doesn't define you. The choices you make now and how you act right now is what makes you who you are. I was trained to be an unstoppable war machine but look at where I am now-"

"I am not a traitor like you!" Hanare shouted with tears in her eyes.

"What the fuck are you--you crazy bitch." Sakura breathed feeling a headache coming on, can she even a remember a day where she didn't get these?

"You built the Waterfall Village and yet here you stand for the Leaf-"

"I am not a traitor; I left the Waterfall Village because I was killed, I left a strong chain of command and when I returned, my title wasn't mine anymore."

"That doesn't-"

"Your starting to get on my nerves." Sakura growled, "Put the sword down or-"

"Or what you'll kill me?" Hanare mocked, "If you were truly inside my head than you know Kakashi also formed feelings for me-"

"That's great." Sakura shrugged, "That has nothing to do with this though."

"Isn't it?" Hanare sneered.

"No." Sakura said shaking her head, "You're a fucking spy, I can't let you leave."

"You burned my memory; I have no recollection of-"

"What I did could possibly be reversed within a short window of time." Sakura said, "So no, you're not going anywhere."

"You are willing to keep me locked inside a cage for Kakashi's sake, you wouldn't kill me-"

"Oh-" Sakura laughed, "-I really would love nothing more than to gut you where you stand and feel your hot blood trailing down my hands, please do not tempt me anymore than what I already am."

"You're a monster-"

"And you're a whore." Sakura shrugged, "Don't be shy, be yourself we are all assholes here, but I will do what I must to protect the Leaf and if that entitles killing you today well then...I will."

"Kakashi's mind is a scrambled heap-" Hanare eyed Sakura as the two circled each other, "-he can't handle another one of his lovers dying on him."

"He isn't a child; he doesn't need his hand held; he is stronger than you give him credit for."

"Easy for a heartless beast like you to say. You already left him once-"

"Excuse me?" Sakura laughed feeling slightly offended, had Kakashi confided in Hanare, did Kakashi feel that Sakura left him?

"You left Kakashi to what? Protect a village?"

"You fucking twat-" Sakura irked. "-I will be damned if I stand here and explain myself to an incompetent donut. I died to protect his home; I didn't have a choice like you do."

"A choice?"

"Isn't that why your leaving Kakashi-" Sakura questioned, "-to protect a village?"

\----

Kakashi watched as an secondary lock ninja fell to the ground in defeat, the clamorous chirping from Kakashi's lighting blade echoed through the trees. Kakashi gazed around feeling Hanare's chakra, she was nearby.

"Kakashi!" Carver called out, the masked shinobi turned seeing Raiden and Carver walked towards him dragging the old man from the lock village.

"What's up?" Raiden asked, relieved to see his friends were still standing.

"Where is Sakura?" Kakashi breathed not seeing her pink hair.

"Huh?" Carver blinked. Naruto and the other leaf ninja walking towards them, "She hadn't met up with you guys yet?"

"No-" Hinata answered with a shake of her head, "-we haven't seen her."

"She went after Hanare last we knew of." Carver said looking at Raiden.

"She went after Hanare alone!?" Tsunade panicked. "Why-!?"

"There were only three of us." Raiden yawned,

"She ordered Raiden and I to go after the lock's leader guy." Carver pointed over his shoulder to the gagged man.

"We need to find her!" Naruto felt full of trepidation with Sakura still missing, her falling as the bridge collapsed replayed through Naruto's mind.

"Yes." Tsunade agreed, "She must be running low on chakra by now-"

"Ah-" Raiden scratched his neck. "-why would that be a thing?"

"The jutsu she used on Hanare-" Tsuande explained, "-to burn her memories-"

"Yeah?"

"-it takes up a lot of chakra." Tsuande finished.

"What?" Raiden blinked,

"Why in the fuck were we not told this!?" Carver snapped, looking around his brain scattering, desperately trying to figure out where Sakura had run off to. "I wouldn't have let her go off on her own!"

"We just found out too." Naruto reasoned, "Where did you last see her?"

"She was fucking running north while Raiden and I went west for this fuck-" Carver pointed down to the old man.

"Alright then-" Naruto nodded, "Let's go-!"

"We don't know if that's the direction Sakura is in, she was tracking Hanare. Sakura could be anywhere by now."

"Then we split up." TenTen stepped in,

Naruto, Kakashi, Hinata, Carver and Raiden broke off in the direction of north without discussing the plan with anyone else.

Sasuke, Itachi, Minato, Neji and Tsunade ran south.

"What a drag." Shikamaru sighed throwing his head back, he and everyone else scattered searching in the in between for their missing commander.

Naruto glanced at Kakashi hearing swords clashing, the hasty sounds of metal against metal made the leaf shinobi pick up the hasten pace.

'Please...be alright.' Hinata begged inside her head as the group ran up the steep hill, Hinata wasn't the only one who was replaying the day Sakura lost her life in her head as they neared the top of the hill.

'I can't-' Kakashi thought to himself, knowing how well he trained Hanare believing he was training with Sakura. Kakashi glanced to the sky begging the heavens.'-take me. Shatter my soul, cut the very flesh from my bones, take my breath from my lungs or my very heart from my chest. Reclaim my life as yours but please for the love of God don't take her again.'

Kakashi was the first to reach the peak of the hill, he stared wide eyed at the scene before him.

"Kakashi-?" She turned to look at him, "-I'm sorry she gave me no other choice-" Kakashi rushed forward, pulling her into his arms as his toned body shook with worry, his heart hammering away at his ribs.

"I was so worried." Kakashi breathed against her soft hair, relaxing feeling her body mold perfectly against him.

"Seriously-?" She laughed tilting her head back, "-you really thought one little spy could bring me down?" Sakura teased looking up into his mask face. God how Kakashi has missed that amused expression on her picturesque face.

"Sakura." Kakashi breathed feeling tears sting the back of his eyes.

"Yeah?"

"Sakura!" Naruto shouted jumping onto the hill, "We are here! What do you-?" Naruto looked around seeing there were only them standing on the hill with a knocked out Hanare lying on the ground. "-what?"

"So..." Sakura looked around at the group watching her. "...let me get this straight, you were all really concerned that-" Sakura gestured to Hanare, "-could take me on and live?"

"We were worried!" Hinata teared up as she compacted herself in between Kakashi giving Sakura a tight hug.

"Why?" Sakura wondered.

"Tsunade said you were low on chakra!" Raiden said pushing his way into the conversation, "Why the hell didn't you tell us you used a large portion on Hanare!?"

"Ugh." Sakura groaned growing weary and a little famished.

Hanare rolled onto her side, blood leaked from her shoulder as she gazed a head at the lighthearted group. Hanare furrowed her brows as she watched the leaf shinobi interact with Sakura, Hanare saw how worried the leaf ninja had been and couldn't understand why.

Sakura Haruno was a frigid monster, she was the reaper. She was dark and cold...how could anyone want to be around her?

But the glistening look in Kakashi's eyes was what finished Hanare. The love that shined through just one eye when Kakashi gazed down at Sakura who argued with Raiden and Naruto, Kakashi never looked at Hanare like that.

"Can we please go home!?" Naruto asked Sakura with bright eyes,

"Yeah I feel dirty." Raiden muttered.

Hanare glared at Sakura, this was all her fault. If she would have just stayed dead none of this would be happening! Inoichi would have believed she was just a regular girl and then she could still be beside Kakashi...

Hanare vowed while laying onto the stiff grass that she would end Sakura Haruno's life once and for all. Hanare would be the reason Sakura would no longer draw breath into her infuriating lungs!

Time seemed to slow down as Sakura looked up into Kakashi's exposed eye as her lips parted and her face grew confused. Hinata drew in a gasp as her hands helplessly automatically moved to cover her mouth and nose. Naruto and Raiden turned hearing the commotion. Hanare stood behind Sakura, her humorous sword penetrating Sakura's body. Sakura looked down seeing the tip of the blade poking through on her left side.

"No!" Kakashi cried out, his arms reaching out for her. Flashes of Sakura's death filled his sight as he pulled her close. Carver tackled Hanare, who kept her grip on the blade pulling it out of Sakura as the two fell to the ground.

Sakura gasped at the cold pressure that dusted her skin, Kakashi tightened his grip on her feeling panic set in, his hands reached out to apply pressure as his brain scrambled to figure out what to do next as everyone around broke into a frenzy.

"Hey!" Sakura called looking around at everyone. "I'm fine, calm down-"

"You were just stabbed!" Naruto cried, his hands in his hair as he scrambled to figure out his next move.

"I-"

"Sakura-" Kakashi breathed, "-sit down and I-" Sakura looked up and instantly frowned. Kakashi's eye was wide and filled with a terror she understood so well. It was the same breed of fear she felt when Kakashi was laying before her dying...that felt like a lifetime ago...

"Sakura, I can apply pressure until-" Kakashi stuttered.

"I'm ok." She said pressing her hand to his chest,

"No!" Kakashi breathed, fragments of Sakura's previous death littered her mind. He couldn't do that again; he couldn't live through losing her again!

"Kakashi-" Sakura said placing her hand on his chest, "-I'm alright."

"But-But you were-" Kakashi said looking at the blade mark and blood soaking a small area of her shirt.

"I don't have the Reaper's poison in my system-" Sakura answered with a smile. "-I'm already healed."

"What?" Kakashi asked, he leaned forward getting a closer look and sure enough through the hole in her armor and shirt, was her smooth untouched skin. He brushed his fingers over the exposed flesh. "How...?" Sakura shivered at Kakashi's light touch.

"I'm good." She said patting his shoulder.

"You were just freaking stabbed!" Naruto said, "We need to get you to the hospital and Tsunade needs to check on you and-and-"

"Naruto." Sakura called. 

"What!?" He cried.

"If I wasn't alright, would I still be standing right now?"

"No? Yes? I don't know!?" Naruto threw his arms up.

"There's no blade mark." Kakashi confirmed to everyone before looking back at Sakura, "You're really...you're really ok?"

"Yes." Sakura nodded with an amused chuckle. "Come on." Sakura nodded to everyone.

"Where are we going?" Hinata wondered, her hand placed on her heart waiting for the rhythm from the instant shock to ease.

"Home." Sakura answered.


	22. Chapter 22

"Thank goodness." Tsunade breathed seeing Sakura walk through the leaf village gates with Naruto and Kakashi by her side.

"Take these two-" Sakura ordered a nearby shinobi, "-lock her up and take the old one down to interrogation."

"Yes Commander." The ninja bowed his head before he and another shinobi grabbed Hanare and the elder from the lock village.

"Why do you...?" Tsunade trailed off watching the two get dragged away.

"My favorite pass time." Sakura smirked.

"You're going to questioned them?" Tsunade guessed as chills ran up her arms, recalling Sakura 'questioning' Hanare.

"More or less." Sakura shrugged her shoulders as she watched Raiden whine about being tired.

"What does that mean?" Tsunade did not want to know the answer.

"It means-" Sakura turned to answer as a nearby shinobi grabbed Tsunade pulling a kunai from his pouch. Kakashi moved to grab the young shinobi but he used Tsuande has a human shield pulling a kunai to the front of her throat. 

"Whoa!" Everyone braced themselves surrounding the village Hokage and the shinobi, Kakashi took a step back giving the shinobi space so he wouldn't feel pressured into harming Tsunade.

"Let her go." Kakashi warned pulling out a kunai.

"Let Kato go!" The shinobi snapped back.

"Who?" Sakura blinked glancing at Carver who looked just as confused.

"The old man-" The shinobi explained further, "-let him go!"

"Another spy." Sakura nodded to herself, her eyes felt heavy and her chakra was heavily depleted, she lightly shook her head trying to jump start her brain.

"I am sleeper cell." The shinobi nodded, "I have been here for-"

"Boy-!" Sakura snapped heavily not in the mood, Naruto flinched at her charged voice. "-look around you, what are your chances of getting out of this alive?"

"I..."

"Didn't think that through, did you?" Sakura asked. "I don't give a fuck how long you have been here, or who you work for. Let the pregnant woman go and then you can go around with me." Kakashi glanced at Sakura, feeling unsettled by this idea since he found out her chakra was low.

"Why would I want to do that?" The boy laughed. "One round with the Reaper is like being thrown into a pit with a pack of hungry wolves, I'll be slaughtered instantly."

"So, you want to draw out your death?" Sakura questioned.

"I am not dying today." He snickered.

"Oh." Sakura nodded, "You really think you're going to collect that old bag and just walk on out of here, don't you?"

"Yes, if you don't want your Hokage to die-" The boy was cut off by Sakura's eyes igniting into their familiar Christmas Wreaths, the shinobi stood no chance as his mind was tipped back into a pool of enchantment. Kakashi moved forward taking this chance to grab the boy, yanking him away from Tsunade which broke Sakura's hold over him.

"What?" The shinobi blinked looking around confused. "What happened?"

"You're an idiot." Sakura answered.

"Everyone knows not to look into her eyes." Carver muttered shaking his head.

"Well enjoy jail." Raiden waved, "Can I go home now?"

"Yes." Sakura sighed knowing she wouldn't be able to go to her new home just yet, she had work to do.

"Yes!" Raiden bounced. "I need a hot shower and a good meal!"

"You good?" Sakura questioned Tsunade who held her throat.

"Yeah." Tsunade breathed.

"Can I say I told you so or...?" Sakura trailed off with a smirk.

"Shut up!" Tsunade snapped knowing Sakura was right about Tsunade not tagging along on the trade. "Go home, get some rest-"

"Can't." Sakura said watching the group of shinobi slowly wonder to their separate homes looking sweaty and tired. "I have work to do."

"What?" Tsunade turned to Sakura, "But you just-"

"Yeah I know what I did today." Sakura flashed a grin.

"You need to rest; this isn't the Waterfall Village-"

"You're right." Sakura nodded, "I'm tired, hungry, I need a shower, but we had three shinobi turn on us today. One just held you by the literal neck so..."

"You're going to question the lock village leader."

"I don't think he is the village leader." Sakura said, "I just think he is high up in the chain of command so I might be able to get something useful out of him."

"I wish you wait until morning after some sleep."

"Me too." Sakura shrugged, "But this can't be put on hold."

"Your right, let's go-"

"Um, no." Sakura laughed, "You are the one who needs to go home and relax."

"But-"

"I can handle the old man and that shinobi; it won't even take me that long to rummage through their head so go home and rest. I shouldn't have to lecture you about how stress isn't good for the baby or you at your age."

"My what!?" Tsunade snapped, "My age is-"

"I know-" Sakura said, "-I died for it."

"Wha..." Tsunade breathed not knowing what to say making Sakura laugh.

"I am joking." Sakura said, "Go Tsunade, I got this."

"Well...alright then...but if you need me-"

"You will be my last call." Sakura cracked another joke before turning in the direction of the leaf jail.

Commander Haruno's first stop was following the young boy down into the jail as he kicked and screamed trying to break free. Sakura let out a deep annoyed sigh, he was being held by two black ops members and she was following them, did he really think he could get free and run?

It took the two shinobi as well as a guard to chain the boy down to the chair inside one of the interrogation rooms.

"Commander-" Ibiki called walking into the room. "-what are you-?"

"I am in the middle of something." Sakura said gesturing to the thrashing kid across from her. "What do you need?"

"I assumed I would be questioning this boy."

"Oh? Why is that?"

"Because it's my job?" Ibiki bowed his head, "Please let me do this Commander." Sakura studied Ibiki for a long second.

"No." Sakura answered, "I need you in the other room working over, what was his name?" Sakura asked the young spy, "Kato?"

"The Lock Village ninja?" Ibiki asked.

"Yes." Sakura confirmed, "The old one who looks like he is just about ready to die." Ibiki couldn't stop the smirk from rising on his face from Sakura's stale comment turning and exited the room.

"Ah, Ibiki!" Inoichi called, moving towards him as he closed the door. "Are you ready for the long night?"

"What?"

"I was told we have two spies we need to interrogate." Inoichi said, "Which one do you want-"

"Commander Haruno is already with the young one."

"What?" Inoichi stated, "Why-"

"She said to start working on the older man while she is with the kid."

"Why is she inside there to begin with!?"

"You and I both have seen what she can do, I believe she will be fine-"

"That is not what I meant!" Inoichi snapped, "I seen Haruno with Hanare, I know what she can do. Why is she in there doing our jobs!? She can't just walk into this village and act like she owns the place."

"I don't think that is what she is doing in the slightest-"

"Ugh!" Inoichi spat, angered that Ibiki wasn't agreeing with him. "Let's go!"

"Where are you going?" Ibiki wondered.

"To break the old man before Haruno has the chance to!" Inoichi spat, sounding like their next move was obvious.

Sakura stood from her chair having skewed the young boys mind, she found that this kid was useless. Sakura understood now why Kato was so adamant on getting his hands on Hanare, she was his golden goose.

Sakura walked from one room to the other, her mind set on getting these two 'interviews' over and done with as fast as she could before running out of chakra and passing out for three days. She nodded at the guard on duty before opening the room Kato was being held in, she was greeted with brisk screaming.

Sakura fluttered her eyes, feeling deeply confused as to why Inoichi was screaming at Kato who shouted back as a response and Ibiki was leaning against the back wall minding his business.

"Oh-" Ibiki stood up, "-Commander, your already done with the kid?"

"Yeah..." Sakura looked around. "-What um...what's going on in here?"

"What does it look like?" Inoichi snapped in a hostile tone drawing his fist back and smashing it against Kato's face, drawing blood to trickle down his chin.

"It looks like I am walking into a really bad joke." Sakura muttered to herself as she let the door close behind her. "Why are you here?" Sakura directed to Inoichi.

"This is our job-" Inoichi pointed to himself and Ibiki, "-we do the interrogations-"

"Mhm..." Sakura pulled her lips together. "...and how is that going for you?"

"We just got started!"

"Yes, I can see this." Sakura said, "I'm taking over."

"What--No!" Inoichi said.

"Uh, yeah."

"Why!?"

"Because I can do it faster."

"No, you-"

"I already finished with the kid." Sakura commented. "Back up before you completely shut this man down from-"

"This is a mistake-!" Inoichi growled as he did as told and backed towards the wall.

"Well-" Sakura said, "-you can be the judge of that in the other room."

"Your kicking us out of our own-"

"I sure am." Sakura said, annoyed and tired. "Life's a bitch, get out."

Inoichi muttered insults under his breath but once again, did as his commander ordered. 

"Did he get anything out of him?" Sakura questioned Ibiki. 

"No." Ibiki replied with a light sigh. "He isn't talking."

"I see." Sakura nodded, "Thank you." She excused him to follow Inoichi out of the room.

Once alone together Sakura sighed as she settled into the hard metal chair which irritated her sore back, Sakura gazed over the table inside the chilled interrogation room as the lock village elder known as 'Kato' sat chained before her. He kept his eyes on the silver table as Sakura studied him.

"Not much for talking now?" Sakura asked feeling her stomach turn in hunger as her head began to hurt.

"I have nothing to say." Kato snapped, spitting a mix of blood and saliva onto the table.

"Oh?" Sakura tilted her head, "I excepted a long drawn out speech filled to the brim with excuses to save your ass."

"I will say nothing until my village-"

"Aw, you think I am going to contact your village for them to help you?" Sakura laughed, "Yeah, no."

"What? But you must-"

"I don't have to do a damn thing." Sakura countered, "The fact you're not dead right now is nothing short of a miracle."

"They will pay-"

"Your village has nothing I want."

"We can give you money-"

"I already have money."

"We-We can give you information-"

"I don't need your secondhand dirt." Sakura leaned back in her chair, feeling Inoichi and Ibiki's scorching eyes on her back.

"Surely is there something you want!"

"There is-" Sakura leaned over the table, causing Kato to look up into her trap, "-I want to burn your village to the ground." Sakura grinned like a Cheshire cat as her eyes shifted slipping into his unsuspecting mind.

\----

Kakashi walked through the leaf village streets, his hands in his pockets as his mind was in a daze. He left his apartment building after knocking and waiting nearly twenty minutes for Sakura to answer her door, but she never did. Kakashi concluded she was not there, possibly inside her office?

Kakashi strolled past ichiraku ramen where Naruto's traveling voice caught his ear.

"Why isn't she answering!?" Naruto whined.

"Maybe Sakura is just tired?" Hinata guessed. "You heard Tsunade earlier, she was low on chakra. Maybe she just went home and fell asleep?"

"Yeah..." Naruto sighed, "...I just want us to hang out with her!"

"I know." Hinata giggled, "But remembered today was only her second day back."

"You're right." Naruto flashed a goofy wide grin towards his girlfriend. "Hm?" Naruto looked over his shoulder believing to have caught silver hair in his peripheral vision but saw no one standing behind them.

Kakashi felt a little bad, he wouldn't have minded spending a little time with Naruto, but he was searching for Sakura, there were so many things he needed to talk with her about.

"Seems like their having trouble finding her as well." Kakashi sighed to himself.

There was a time where Kakashi was always the one beside her...Kakashi felt pain inside his chest as he wondered to her office, he missed those simple days in the sun.

He knocked on her office door, after a long moment he opened it and walked in only to be met with a darkened room.

"Well..." Kakashi sighed disappointed walking into the room looking around, he felt so proud of her. He hadn't even been able to congratulate her on her new job. For so long he and his team bothered Sakura about leaving the waterfall village to come here and now that moment has finally arrived, no one could find her.

Kakashi looked to the front of her desk, his eye hardened recalling the kiss Itachi shared with his cherry blossom. Kakashi's stomach dropped, was she with him!?

Kakashi scanned over the room once more before turning to leave, Kakashi stopped his exit as he spotted a familiar phone sitting on the desk.

"She doesn't have her phone?" Kakashi spoke to himself, he furrowed his brows feeling even more confused. Sakura always had her phone.

Where was Sakura!? 

Kato fell forward limp in the seat as he stared off into a daze, Sakura slowly rose from her chair licking her chapped lips as she exited the room.

"Did you kill him!?" Inoichi's rough voice rattled the hallway and he and Ibiki joined her in the hallway. Sakura blinked her vision clear, placing her hand on the wall trying to steady dizzy self.

"No." Sakura breathed looking up at the two shinobi who glared down with disdain at her, on any other day she would have rightfully put them in their place but today she was feeling strained. "Do either of you know a Aoki Suzuki?"

"Who?"

"I'll take that as a no." Sakura breathed, "She is the last spy the Lock Village has inside-"

"Impossible!" Inoichi waved her hand.

"Oh really?" Sakura scoffed, "So, what were the other three who turned on us today then?"

"Aoki Suzuki you said?" Ibiki sighed.

"Yes."

"I will track this woman down and-"

"Throw her in a cell until the morning." Sakura ordered.

"What?" Inoichi questioned, "Why not question her now?"

"Maybe because I have been running around all fucking and I am running low on chakra-"

"I can do it-"

"No, you will not." Sakura instructed.

"Listen here-" Inoichi snapped, "-you may have just taken over a title that was handed to you-"

"You really need to learn when to shut your mouth." Sakura said looking at Ino's father.

"Wh-What!?"

"I didn't stutter." Sakura replied, "If you make me repeat myself then I will gladly head over to the training grounds with you and show you why Tsunade put me in charge and not you."

"I thought you were low on chakra." Inoichi mocked, with this hand on his hips like his daughter did.

"I am-" Sakura confirmed, "-but I can still bend you over and-"

"Alright-!" Ibiki stepped in between the two shinobi. "-Commander Haruno, you have already questioned two of the Lock Village's spies I understand you may be tired but Inoichi is good at his job and can-"

"I never said he wasn't good at what he does." Sakura snapped, "If you stop cutting me off every two fucking seconds, I can tell you that every Lock spy has been trained like Hanare. You take one look into Aoki Suzuki's head and she can slip into yours and there won't be a damn thing you can do to stop it."

"But-"

"I can get around their jutsu, you cannot."

"She is locked up-"

"Would you really risk your villages security because of your man pride?" Sakura questioned.

"No." Inoichi growled, "But we need to discover what this woman has uncovered-"

"From what I could gather from Kato, Aoki is new. Since they were able to slip three spies successfully into this village without being uncovered, Kato thought this would be an easy practice run for Aoki."

"We are not easy-"

"You kind of are." Sakura said, "For now, but since Aoki Suzuki isn't on your radar I highly doubt she has been able to collect anything on us, so throwing her in a jail over night while I get some sleep, I think we will be fine."

"Very well then." Inoichi held his nose up high. "Ibiki and I will track this woman down while you go home and-"

"Watch your mouth." Sakura warned, "I won't be warning you again."

"Excuse us Commander." Ibiki bowed his head as he turned dragging a puffed out Inoichi behind him. Sakura sighed, asking the guard to take Kato to his cell until she was able to deal with him in the morning.

\----

A yawn stretched itself out on Sakura's lips as she opened her front door, feeling happy to be done with today. She pulled her hair down from its pony tail, she sighed feeling some of the pain in her head dissipate. Stripping her soiled clothing Sakura stepped into a hot running shower to attempt to wash the stress of the day away.

After a half hour, she stepped out of the bedroom wearing shorts and a lazy baggy shirt. She held one of those gritty meal bar she always ate while inside the waterfall village. Her body ached as she sat on the couch flicking the television on, she didn't have it in her to search for food she may or may not have inside the kitchen.

She licked her lips as she opened the meal bar in her hand, her stomach roared for food punishing the lack of substance by sending waves of nausea throughout her nerves. Sakura looked around the quiet apartment, this felt...odd.

There was no one lurking outside to try and murder her for a job title, no one breathing down her neck and there were no dictatorial eyes staring at her, waiting for Sakura to let down her guard. 

This feeling was...different...

A light knock on her front door stopped her mid bite as she turned and stared. Did she want to answer that? Did she have it in her to stay awake any longer and deal with people? But they could be her friends...Sakura groaned as she pulled herself onto burning feet, she careless opened the door as she took her first bite of the meal bar.

"Kakashi?" Sakura muffled staring at him, he gave her a closed eye smile.

"Hello." Kakashi said, glad to have finally found her.

"Er..." Was all Sakura's sleepy brain could come up with as she slowly chewed the food in her mouth.

"I found your phone." Kakashi said pulling the dead cell phone from his pocket, Sakura tilted her head remembering she had forgotten the stupid thing in her office since it became useless to her.

"You were in my office?" Sakura asked,

"Uh, yes..." Kakashi nervously laughed, "...I was looking for you."

"Me?"

"Yes."

"Why?" Sakura wondered tilting her head to the side making Kakashi grin under his mask.

"I just wanted to make sure you were alright." Kakashi explained handing the phone off. "You were injured and-"

"I already told you-" Sakura sighed annoyed.

"What is that?" Kakashi cut Sakura off eyeing the despised meal bar.

"Uh-" Sakura shook her head trying to remember words. "-dinner." She was holding it up.

"You're eating that...for dinner?" Kakashi slowly repeated.

"Yeah. I used to eat them all the time, they are not that bad-" As Sakura explained why she had so many boxes of these things.

Kakashi recalled to the conversation he had with Carver when he and Raiden first moved into the leaf village. Where he discovered those two including Sakura would eat almost nothing but those flavorless meal bars.

When Sakura and Kakashi started to date, he made it a personal goal of his to always make sure she ate a hot homemade meal when she came around. Kakashi swallowed the lump in his throat as he wondered when the last time, she had an actual meal was. 

"Can I make you dinner?" Kakashi asked out of the blue, Sakura looked up at his masked face unable to hide her shock.

"Uh...what?"

"Can I make you dinner?" Kakashi repeated.

"I...I don't even think I have anything in the kitchen to make food with." Sakura softly laughed.

"Oh?" Kakashi asked looking past Sakura to the kitchen, where he wanted to be.

"This is my second day living here so..."

"I thought Tsunade and Carver got this place ready for you."

"They did-" Sakura nodded, "-they clean and decorated but I never actually noticed if I was left food. Wait, do I have coffee?" Sakura asked herself realizing she may not have her favorite drink for when she has to drag herself out of bed in the a few hours.

"May I?" Kakashi asked, fighting back the urge to just walk into her apartment like Naruto and the others can.

"Um..." Sakura responded, "...sure." She stepped aside letting him move into the apartment.

"Thank you." Kakashi grinned feeling delighted as he plucked the plastic wrapped bar from her hand.

"Hey-" Sakura turned.

"Don't ruin your dinner."

"That is my-"

"What would you like me to make?" Kakashi asked moving to Sakura's kitchen, much to his elation Sakura's kitchen was fully stocked with an assortment of food and seasonings.

"Um..." Sakura muttered looking at the floor, "...chef's choice?" Kakashi chucked as he turned to gaze at her, his eye trailed down her face and over her exposed body.

Damn she never looked better.

"I'll make your favorite." Kakashi decided clearing the dirty thoughts from his mind, earning Sakura's interest as Kakashi pulled the ingredients for chicken alfredo, she sat on one of the bar stools. She always loved to watch him cook.

"So..." Sakura said after some time of her stomach growling from the mouthwatering smells leaking from the kitchen.

"So." Kakashi repeated not looking away from the sauce.

"Thanks for bringing my phone."

"Of course." Kakashi replied. Sakura looked down at the tile letting the conversation die, she was so tired she had no clue what to say. "There was something I wanted to talk to you about." Kakashi said after the silence threatened to swallow him whole.

"Oh?"

"Uh, yes." He said pouring the white sauce over bowls of noodles and grilled chicken, handing her one. Kakashi took a seat beside Sakura as his heart pounded in his chest catching sideways glances of her.

"And that would be...?" Sakura trailed off taking a bite of the delicious food, Kakashi was always the best cook. Sakura's eyes widened, her lips parted as she watched Kakashi pull his mask down, her heart skipped seeing his exposed face.

"Why you found me down in the jail." Kakashi answered, giving Sakura a mouthful of dread as she quickly looked away from his gaze. She sighed setting for fork down feeling the tension gearing up.

"I already know." Sakura said feeling her heart fill with a feeling like wet sand.

"Yo-You do?"

"Yeah, Hanare and I had a chance to talk-" Sakura bit her lip, "-before I burned her mind." She took a bite looking ahead of her, not daring to seal a glimpse of his handsome face.

"And?"

"I know about your visits with her, if you want to see her, I'm not going to stand in the way, but I don't recommend you-"

"Visits?" Kakashi furrowed his brows confused. "I only went and seen her once."

"That's not what she said." Sakura sighed. "Your mind might still be-"

"Hey-" Kakashi said, reaching over placing his fingers lightly under her chin to make her look at him. "-I know for a fact I only went down there once, I was angry-"

"You, angry?"

"You were right, the illusion I had placed over me is breaking apart. The past months I was with Hanare I believed I was with you-" Sakura's eyes widened hearing Kakashi's words. "-she used how I feel about you to create a world where I thought you were still alive, and she wilfully played the part of you."

"Kakashi-"

"I am so sorry I called you by her name." Kakashi breathed, "I thought-"

"I know." Sakura smiled weakly, "You still need time to figure out-"

"I don't need time to figure anything out." Kakashi stated fully cupping the side of Sakura's face. "I know how I feel about y-"

Kakashi and Sakura turned hearing a hastened round of knocking on the front door.

"Expecting anyone?" Sakura joked loving the smile that flourished over his face. With the bowl of steaming food in her hand; she was not going to part with this food. She took a large bite as she pulled the door open. 

"Saku-" Carver looked up from mindless gazing at the floor "-Kakashi?" Carver blinked looking from the masked shinobi who turned hearing his name. Kakashi gave his signature closed eye smile as Carver turned to search Sakura's face for answers as confusions laced his brain. 

"Is the sky falling?" Sakura asked.

"What? Er, no-"

"Then leave-"

"We have a problem." Carver stated. 

"You're going to have bigger problems if you don't fuck off." Sakura exasperated. 

"You have been requested at the front gates of the village." Carver brushed off Sakura's threat.

"I have visitors?" Sakura wondered to herself for a moment. "Who?"

"You're not going to like it..."

"Who is here?" Kakashi asked walking to Sakura's side.

"Dawn as well as...Kaguya..." Carver answered tasting the waters as he gauged Sakura's reaction.

"What?" Sakura frowned, furrowing her brows together showing her confusion, "Why are they-"

"Kaguya has demanded that you return with her to the Waterfall Village." Carver breathed the news to the soldier and the shinobi.

"Demanded?" Sakura scoffed at the ridiculous word, but Kakashi looked down at Sakura with a disquiet feeling quickly filling his bones.

"They also said..." Carver went on raining on Sakura and Kakashi's parade. 

"Yes?" Sakura waved him on to spit it out.

"If you don't return with them to the Waterfall Village, Kaguya will wage war against us."

Sakura turned to Kakashi who softly touched her lower back as he densely absorbed this information. He finally got Sakura back, it had only been mere days since she had returned home. She hadn't had the chance to even breathe and acknowledge the fact she was home and they...they hadn't had one moment alone together until now, Kakashi looked down at Sakura, leaving him feeling more disconcerted than ever before.


	23. Chapter 23

_**P.O.V. Naruto Uzumaki** _

"Sakura!" Tsunade tensely called out, I turned my head feeling the pregnant Tsunade move away from my side as we stood at the back of the enlarging crowd.

"Granny!" I hissed irritated quickly following her as she dashed towards Sakura who was now arriving on the atwitter scene. I felt my eyebrow raise seeing Kakashi casually walking beside Sakura his hands resting inside his pockets, since when are those two on speaking terms?

I glanced over my shoulder feeling the muddy tension swirling around in the cooling night air. A group of waterfall soldiers stood in our busted open gates with dozens of our shinobi keeping them at bay.

"What are you...?" I trailed off looking between Kakashi and Sakura, feeling like I was missing something here.

"Sakura, your friend over there just barged into the village-" Tsunade ranted on how the waterfall shinobi stormed through the gates, demanding we hand over Sakura to them.

"You need to leave." Sakura sternly instructed, I looked up confused. My heart eased seeing Sakura was looking at Tsunade and not at me.

"Wha-What?" Tsunade shook her head, "I will not-"

"I am here now." Sakura said, "You should get to the Hokage Tower and-"

"I will not leave you here alone to deal with them-"

"This is my job-" Sakura stated, sounding so calm as we stood inside an eye of yet another twisting storm. "-now that I am here you don't need to be. Have you really not learned your lesson from the trade with the Lock Village?"

"But I-"

"I know you want to be here, and I appreciate you wanting to stand beside me, but you are pregnant."

"I-"

"And I am not going to be facing them alone." Sakura said.

"You're not?"

"I have him-" Sakura nodded her head towards me, I felt the large smile bloom across my chilled face as she nodded to her side where Kakashi stood. "-and him. I will be fine."

"But they want to take you-"

"Yeah-" Sakura laughed, "-let's see them do that."

"I am worried." Tsunade breathed the truth we were all fearing, what if Sakura was to leave with Dawn and Kaguya? What if I never see her again!?

"I'm not worried-" Sakura flashed a smile that made me feel this situation was nothing but a brush off our shoulder. "-so why are you?"

"I-I-Because it's my job!" Tsunade reasoned.

"And this is mine-" I couldn't believe how tranquil she was right now; she almost didn't act like there was a village war breathing down our necks that could possibly set off the next great shinobi war! "-so, go home." Sakura moved passed Tsunade walking towards the front of the gates where Kaguya, Dawn and the waterfall soldiers all impatiently waited.

"Naruto-" Tsunade pulled my attention to her, "-watch her back." I nodded, turning on my heel to catch up with my new commander.

"Mm-" Sakura called out; "-it must be my birthday."

"Sakura." Dawn sounded irritated but her face alleviated upon seeing the pink hair shining against the reflective moon light.

I knew the feeling coursing through Dawn's body right now, I felt it all too many times when Sakura would ride through these large gates after weeks of not hearing from her. Seeing this reaction made me tighten my fists even more as a burning rage filled my chest, they weren't taking her away from us!

"What do I owe the pleasure?" Sakura questioned, having reached the front of our collected shinobi. I glanced at Kakashi, I rarely see any other emotion on him besides his lazed demeanor so upon seeing the darkened frost that dusted his exposed eye, I felt even more anxious.

"I am here for you, Sakura." Kaguya answered.

"Me?" Sakura tilted her head in the cute way she always did when confused.

"Yes." Kaguya nodded, "I gave you your free time to play with your friends, but now it's time you come home." Sakura glanced off into the distance, the smile on her lips that made the pit of my stomach unsettled.

"And if I don't?" Sakura questioned, making me glance questionably towards her, what was she doing?

"If you do not return to the Waterfall Village with me, then we will bring this village to its knees." Kaguya declared, Sakura pulled her full lips into a thin line.

"Ok-" Sakura nodded; my heart dropped as my eyes widened in skepticism. Was it that easy for her to just leave us?

"Sakura." Kakashi breathed her sweet name, sounding just as bewildered as I felt. Sakura took a step forward, this wasn't fair! We only had her for short time, in that time we couldn't show her that this was her home, where she truly belonged. I needed more time! I was about to reach out, I needed her to stay here with me.

"-I want to see it." Sakura called out, freezing me in my place.

"What?" I heard myself dumbfoundedly asking feeling Sasuke move to my side as mutters broke throughout the crowd.

"Excuse me?" Kaguya responded.

"If you're going to stand there-" Sakura said, "-and threaten me with a war if I don't return to your village, then I want to see what you will bring down onto my head."

"I-" Kaguya blinked, clearly having not seen this coming. "-Of course, we can-" Kaguya recovered from her stunned stature quickly.

"On your knee!" Sakura ordered; her hardened voice hit me like a punch to the gut. I almost dropped down but before I could take in a breath, the waterfall soldier quickly dropped to one knee and bowed. I felt my jaw hit the pavement as I glanced to Sasuke.

"What!?" Kaguya breathed turning to Dawn, who looked just as shocked as we all did.

"You forget-" Sakura said moving closer, away from me and the safety I could help provide her if she would just stay still my life would be so much easier! "-I was the one who built your army, not a damn soldier will dare stand against me."

"Her fail safe." Kakashi gasped under his breath, I turned to look at him not understanding what he was talking about.

"I see." Kaguya nodded her head, "Well then, I suppose there is no other option left-" Kaguya never finished her sentence, a bright line of light shined through the night as it flew towards Sakura.

I helplessly stood rooted in place as I watched the bright light revolve around Sakura who casually glanced at the bright silver circle glowing mid air around her.

"What is this!?" Tsunade boomed moving through the crowd.

"Why are you still here!?" I shouted.

"Tha-That's-" Inoichi stuttered, turning a ghostly white.

"What?" I asked turning to Ino's grumpy father.

"You know what that is?" Sasuke questioned.

"Yes." Inoichi breathed shaking his head looking almost sweaty from his nerves.

"Care to share!?" Iruka snapped.

"That's a very powerful mind jutsu."

"A...what?" I asked,

"That type of jutsu is old and dangerous, it can wipe a person's memory clean if done right-"

"That's what Kaguya did to Sakura-" Carver realized sending shivers down my arms as I recalled that day...

 _"-Sakura, this isn't you. You're not this monster-"_ My terrified voice echoed through my head,

 _"No, I am much...much worse."_ Her wicked smile and wild animal like eyes still made my skin crawl.

"Excuse me?" Kakashi turned hearing our conversation, "What happened to Saku-"

"Oh, you were dead-" Raiden waved his hand, "-mind your business."

"But I-" Kakashi turned wanting more information. I quickly spun around as the light that lit the night illuminated brighter.

"Sakura!" I spun around; I couldn't lose my best friend again; I didn't want to see her turn back into that thing she once was. "Sasuke-!" I called, we had to break this jutsu before it could--the reflecting light shattered pulling everyone attention to a shocked Kaguya.

Sakura's glowing eyes shined against the darkness like a beacon of hope.

"How-?" Dawn shook her head in disbelief.

"That isn't going to work a second time." Sakura said as her eyes returned to their vibrant emerald color.

"You will return with us!" Kaguya snapped, "I made you who you are today-"

"You mean what I am?" Sakura smirked, "The balls on you-" Sakura laughed, "-to stand here and act like you have any hold over me."

"I-"

"No." Sakura shook her head, "I was the one who freed you, not the other way around. I don't owe you a damn thing."

"I trained you-"

"You trained me to be your soldier and nothing more. You're the one who got your threads twisted and wanted warm and fuzzy feelings from a cold-blooded killer from your own creation."

"I did not-" Kaguya baffled out.

"It's not my fault when you decided that I was more to you than a weapon I was already too far gone!"

"Sakura, this is enough-!"

"You're damn right it is, get the fuck out of my village-" Sakura bared her teeth.

"This is not your village!" Dawn stepped into the tense conversation. "You don't belong here!"

"Yes, she does!" I stepped beside Sakura, if Dawn could but in then so could I! "She made her decision where she wants to be, accept it and move on."

"Never." Dawn spat,

"This is ridiculous, Sakura-"

"I don't think I stuttered-" Sakura said glancing at me, "-when I said get the fuck out."

"Why?" Kaguya breathed, "Why would you want to stay inside a village that banished you-!?"

"Why would I want to stay inside a village that makes me numb and so checked out!?" Sakura countered, "Why would I want to stay with you when you made me feel so mistreated that when they-" Sakura gestured towards me and Kakashi, "-reached out and actually made me feel happy, I pushed them away because I was too scared to feel anything!?" I turned to Sakura; a ping of pain spread through my heart hearing her words.

"She-" Kaguya pointed out Tsunade, "-was the reason you laid awake at night desperately trying to figure out why you weren't good enough, this village is the reason you were drowning in anxiety, depression and the loneliness nearly crippled you-"

"Yeah, they did do that, but you got me when I was drowning in the shallow end, you're the one who catapulted me into the deep end and left me there alone to drown!"

"This village banished you! They threw you out into the cold and-"

"What you did was better?" Sakura asked, "You beating into me that my baggage was only my fight to fight? That all my battles I had to face were mine and mine alone or I was weak? You making me believe that all the demons you poured into me was all on my shoulders and my shoulders alone, that's better!?"

"Yes!"

"No!" Sakura darkly laughed, "You took fucking years of my life that I can't get back, you ended my life and put me through literal hell all for what?"

"I made you strong."

"I didn't need to be strong." Sakura replied, "I needed help. I needed a roof over my head, food in my mouth and I needed guidance controlling what had happened to me. The only thing you did was take advantage of a terrified child."

"Whether you like it or not, we are family-"

"No-!" Sakura laughed, tilting her head up as she did so. "-if you truly cared for who I am at all, you would stand by my choices and-"

"I will not stand by as you make a mistake-"

"Then it is my mistake to make." Sakura replied. "You don't get to control my life; you don't get to pick and choose when you can step in."

"Yes, I can we are family-"

"You want to call us family?" Sakura scoffed, "How can you stand there and say that?"

"Because-?"

"Because you killed me in every sense of the matter?" Sakura asked, earning Kaguya sharp daggers from me and my friends. "Because you feel entitled after all these years of us just working together?"

"We did more than work together-"

"No, we really didn't." Sakura said, "You would sit on your ass while I kept the village standing or you would send me off on missions to die, that is our whole relationship."

"We are family-"

"You keep saying we are family, but we are not."

"Yes-"

"Family cares about each other! They don't care about what my name can do for them, they have my back without question, and they are always there when I need them, even if it hurts them to do so. You were never there when I needed you Kaguya."

I sniffed fighting back my tears as I stared at Sakura, my heart swelling with emotions I couldn't unpack in the small fraction of time, all hell could break loose at any given second. I just wanted to reach out and hug her, I could see the pain in her eyes as she spoke with Kaguya and all I wanted to do was wash it away.

My body moved on its own as I wrapped my hand around hers, Sakura turned to look at me with wide eyes, it was time...time for the fighter to be fought for.

"Sakura is not just my best friend-" I said looking into her emerald eyes, "-she is my sister. One thing she has taught me is family doesn't always end with blood, she had no reason to step in the line of fire for me, but she did without hesitation multiple times. She always had my back even when I didn't know it."

"Naruto..." Sakura whispered my name, but she couldn't stop the waterfall of words pooling from my heart.

"A smart man once told me, those who abandon their friends are worse than scum, so if a war is what you're asking for then we will gladly bring one, because we are not going to turn our backs on Sakura, not ever again!"

"Yeah!" Voices behind me cheered.

"You don't have to do this." Sakura turned to me, "This is my fight-"

"No, it isn't." I shook my head, "That is Kaguya talking, not you. You're my family, I am going to stand beside you no matter what it takes!"

"Sakura-" Sasuke said moving to my side, I smirked seeing Sakura cringe at his voice. "-you are worth being fought for."

"The dopes right-" Kiba agreed, moving to stand by Sakura's side wrapping an arm around her. "-you may be a different breed of crazy that I don't understand but I like it!" Sakura smirked as she looked around the growing group of people.

"What do you say Sakura?" Hinata sweetly smiled,

"Huh?" Sakura blinked.

"Are you going to stay?" Choji asked.

"There was never a question of if I was going to leave or not." Sakura chuckled.

"There...There wasn't?" I slowly questioned.

"I'm not going anywhere." Sakura said turning to Kaguya,

"You have your answer-" Tsunade smirked looking like she had just won the jackpot, "-the next question you have to ask yourself now is do you want to go up against the entire Leaf Village as well as Commander Haruno?"

"You are done trying to control the Reaper-" My father stepped forward standing by my side with a strong hand on my shoulder, making me feel reassured and safe. "-she is no longer yours to lay claim on. With the harsh way you treated her you should have known there would come a time she escaped your labyrinth, now it's time to reap what you sow and let her go."

"Sakura, you do not belong here-" Kaguya brushed off my father's wise words. "-it's only a matter of time before you realize this village could never contain what you truly are-"

"Don't tell her what she can and cannot be!" Tsunade snapped, "You have no idea who she is or what-"

"I will be waiting Sakura." Kaguya blatantly ignored Tsunade as she turned to exit through the front gates, "The longer you make me wait, the worse it will be for you." Dawn stared at her village leader clearly unhappy they were leaving without Sakura and without putting up a fight.

I swallowed the lump sitting inside my throat as the waterfall shinobi faded into the distance.

"Well that was an eventful thirty seconds." Raiden cracked, breaking up the riotous tension causing a few people to smile and even chuckle.

"I bet you hear that a lot." Sakura turned joining in on the joke.

"I-I do not!" Raiden blushed a bright red as he quickly puffed air from his chest.

"Sakura, would you like to come-" Hinata looked to her feet as she spoke until a masked shinobi came running through the dispersing crowd who as ready for this long day to end now that the threat was no more.

"Commander Haruno!" He desperately called out.

"Ugh, what?" Sakura groaned her head tipping back as she did that, I could see just how tired she was from the long day.

"You are needed-" The shinobi quickly bowed his head in respect.

"Why?" Sakura sighed.

"-we are having...issues...with...um..." The ninja glanced over my shoulder at Kakashi looking too uncomfortable to continue the conversation in front of all of us, he turned back to Sakura who huffed, glancing sideways at me before turning on her heel.

"Maybe next time." Sakura said to Hinata before following the shinobi through the thinning crowd of watching eyes, leaving me standing in the cool night air feeling relieved but worried all at the same time.

_**P.O.V. Change: Commander Sakura Haruno** _

One of the guards from the jail had come to retrieve me after the conflict with the waterfall village mostly resolved itself. I knew that wouldn't be the last time I seen or spoke with Dawn or Kaguya. I glanced to my phone feeling aggravated seeing no new messages from Annistyn, I had a nagging feeling there would soon be a fight between the leaf and waterfall...

"What is the issue?" I asked as we walked through the hallways of the underground jail.

"Well Commander, I didn't want to say anything in front of Lord Sixth but...Hanare has been very difficult."

"Difficult?" I repeated the word I was not expecting, "It hasn't even been a day since she has been locked up, how hard is it to keep her-"

"She has tried to commit suicide two times Commander." The guard said,

"What?" I partially laughed, Hanare didn't seem like the type to just end it all. If anything, I would expect her to try and escape...

What plan did that unhinged psychopath cook up?

"She went completely insane; she ran herself into the stone walls as hard as she could, she broke three ribs and has a grade three concussion Commander. She was banging her head against the metal bars of her cell until we intervened, it took three of us to contain her."

"I see..." I muttered looking ahead as her familiar cell came into view.

"We sedated her but when she comes to, I have no idea what she will try next."

"She will probably go on a food strike or try to choke on her next meal." I answered, I looked over seeing the horror on the guard's face. "That's what I would do." I shrugged.

"What...?"

"If a person really wants to die, they will find a way." I said gazing into the cell, Hanare was restrained as a guard stood inside her cell as a babysitter, she physically sighed seeing me.

"Commander." She stood.

"How long has Hanare been out?" I questioned.

"An hour." The guard beside me answered, "The drugs she was given should keep her under until morning."

"Hm..." I hummed staring at Hanare, I didn't like the fact a guard was pulled off the floor to act as a glorified babysitter. This could leave the prison open for careless mistakes, and I don't like mistakes.

"Do we have an execution list?" I wondered out loud.

"Uh, Ye-Yes Commander." The guard nodded.

"Fantastic." I turned to him, "Put her on it and then have it on my desk by morning."

"Um...of course-" He bowed his head. "-but..."

"Yes?" I turned from leaving looking at the unsure expression sitting on his face.

"She is—was the Lord Sixth's-"

"I don't give a damn who she is." I said, "A title doesn't excuse her from the law, she almost crippled this village. Put her on the damn list, chain her up and get the hell out of her cell and get back to your post, if she wants to die then that's her choice. I am not going to put this village at risk for a fugitive to escape so you can babysit the spy."

"Yes...Commander." The two guards nodded, looking so unsure of my decision but did as I ordered.

"Anything else?" I asked.

"No Commander."

"Good." I nodded taking my rare chance to leave.

I sighed feeling a weight roll off my shoulders seeing no one was hanging outside my door. My body ached in pain with the lack of chakra taking its toll, my stomach rolled angry from the tease of food I gave given it. I wondered if Kakashi's dinner was still good. I felt a wave of excitement course through me as I walked through the open door, I turned locking it behind me.

I loved Naruto and everyone else, but I just needed some peace and a little sleep. I sighed ready for food and a hot shower, turning on my heel I froze as my stomach jumped in surprise.

Kakashi rose from sitting on the couch, he placed his phone in his pocket seeing me staring at him.

"Hey." He sounded breathless, was his mind still breaking apart?

"Are you ok?" I wondered, taking my armor off as I gazed around wondering who else was going to pop up tonight.

"I am the only one here." Kakashi said seeing me look for the others.

"Oh-" I nodded, feeling a little relieved I didn't have to entertain anymore people tonight. "-so, is everything alright or...?"

Why was he here?

"Uh, yes." Kakashi nodded humor lacing his voice, "I just wanted to make sure you were ok."

"Why wouldn't I be?" I asked.

"Well-" Kakashi deeply chuckled, the sound of his voice scorched my tired heart. "-you had a long day. Between the Lock Village trade, the Waterfall Village coming in and whatever you got dragged off to do after Kaguya left, I figured you—I just wanted to make sure you were alright."

"I am." I said.

"Good." Kakashi smiled under his mask, "I'll just be going then..." He cleared his throat as he moved towards the door. I watched him with a heavy heart, why did this feel so hard? I faintly remember a time when being with him use to be so effortless...what changed between us?

Kakashi's hand reached out, gripping the doorknob. I heard him unlock the golden bolt lock, my heart stirred as my stomach turned at the thought of sleeping alone without him.

"I don't want you to go!" The words flooded from my mouth before I could realize what I had said, Kakashi turned his eye wide as the full moon outside. I licked my lips as I felt sickened to my core by the heavy silence that slowly ticked by.

"I don't want to leave." Kakashi breathed, his hand falling off the doorknob as took long strides away from the door.

"What did you-?" I don't think I caught his words right; I hadn't noticed him reach me until Kakashi took me into his tight embrace, his hand found the back of my head taking a fistful of my hair as he pressing his lips against mine.

~~~~

Before you continue on to the next chapter, you get to choose Tsunade's baby's name! 

The original story 'Along the Strands of her Pink Hair', I named the baby boy Layton but this time around I have decided to do a poll instead! 

I will tallie up the votes and post the results inside the chapter where she has her child. 

The name can be either male or female, it's up to you!

Stay Calm and Jommy on!

Sarah


	24. Chapter 24

The sound of a distant shower in the background was the first thing Sakura heard as she pulled herself back into reality. The panicked knocking on her front door wouldn't register as she ran her tongue over her chapped lips.

Sakura sat up; her eyes stung with lack of sleep with a head full of muggy air she looked around her bedroom. Scratching her head, she noticed she was alone, the sheets beside her were ruffled with the blanket pulled back.

Where was Kakashi?

Sakura turned her head as the constant knocking echoing from the front door looped around her overworked brain. She sighed, pulling her legs from underneath the cocoon of warmth she left her bedroom moving to the living room feeling anxious grip her shoulders.

"What!?" Sakura snapped as she yanked the wooden door open, strands of her pink hair floated around from the whip lash.

"I-I-" A masked black ops shinobi stuttered, quickly dropping down onto one knee to show his respect.

"Why are you here!?" Sakura pressured.

"Yo-Yo-You are-are-"

"Is the village being attacked?" Sakura questioned, placing a hand on her hip.

"N-No-!"

"Is the fucking sky falling!?"

"N-No Comm-"

"Then why the fuck are you here!?" Sakura's lack of sleep licked the sharped edges of her words as she glared at the shinobi below.

"There is an issue with the new rotation of shinobi-"

"You're not answering me-!" Sakura shook her head feeling her agitation levels quickly spike. "-why am I looking at you right now?"

"Because we need you-"

"I didn't spend the last two months of my life correcting the fucking line of command in this village for you all to come running to me at the first sign of inconvenience. You now have bosses you need to go to before you come bug me, I don't do house calls."

"Y-Yes Commander you made that perfectly clear-"

"Then why are you here!?"

"Be-Because..."

"Leave."

"But-"

"The village isn't under any threat; the sky is intact for once. So go to the first person who gets paid more than you."

"But-But I don't want to bother-"

"You'd rather bother me?"

"N-No! I mean yes, I mean no! There-There is an issue with the rotation and all the shinobi are fighting-"

"Figure it out." Sakura rolled her eyes. "I am sure you all are capable enough to fix a little scheduling issue on your own."

"With all due respect, shinobi are under your jurisdiction Commander Har-"

"I'm about to be down one less shinobi in a fucking minute if you don't get out of my face." Sakura cursed.

"Tenzo-" Kakashi opened the door the rest of the way, revealing his masked face and closed eye smile. "-why don't you take off?"

"Lord-"

"Go." Sakura stiffly ordered.

"Ye-Yes Commander." Tenzo bowed his head before quickly spinning in his heels running with his tail tucked tightly between his legs.

"Your very harsh on the shinobi." Kakashi commented as Sakura allowed the door to slam shut.

"They are all idiots."

"They are still your idiots."

"Which is why I have to be stern."

"That wasn't being stern Sakura." Kakashi said crossing his arms over his firm chest, "The shinobi of this village should be able to feel they can come to you about anything-"

"A scheduling issue?" Sakura asked moving towards the kitchen with the hopes of fresh coffee waiting for her.

"Sakura." Kakashi sighed pulling his mask down as a smirk laid upon his plump lips. "You're too strict with them."

"They are not children." Sakura turned to him.

"You have only overseen the shinobi for two months-" Kakashi replied, "-you have changed so much, everyone needs time to adjust-"

"Like I said-" Sakura cut him off, "-the shinobi are not babies, I don't need to hold their hands. They are all grown people who have been trained, they will all be fine."

"Morale has been down-"

"Oh my God-!" Sakura darkly laughed; "-morale is down?" Sakura's voice was sparked with sarcasm. "Let me stop improving the village and getting this place in shape all because-"

"You know what I meant-"

"You are not in charge yet Kakashi." Sakura said crossed her arms. "You get to be the good guy, everyone's favorite because their lives don't rest on your shoulders yet. The people outside this village who want to bring us down won't give a damn if our morale is low. They will take us down without a second fucking thought and I won't let that happen."

"There isn't anyone outside our gates that is trying to bring us down."

"That you know of." Sakura countered,

"Sakura..."

"What?" Sakura sighed hearing his softened tone. "What are you holding back?"

"I just think..." Kakashi breathed, "...you have only been alive for a couple months-"

"Not this again." Sakura groaned turning back to the chore of making her sweet coffee.

"-and before you died, the Reaper's were your biggest priority, but they are gone you brought them down-"

"I know the Reapers are gone." Sakura groaned out, "But that doesn't mean there won't be someone else-"

"There is no one-"

"You have been spending too much time with Naruto." Sakura replied, "You know every time you cut down one evil, another always takes its place."

"I am aware of that-"

"I am just preparing this village for the next one." Sakura breathed, "Because that is my job."

"I know." Kakashi smiled, wrapping his arms around her. "You are the best Commander this village could ever ask for."

"Doesn't feel like it when you always call me out for being too harsh."

"This village isn't like the Waterfall."

"I am well aware of that."

"Then why are you treating them the same?"

"I..." Sakura sighed as she leaned into his grasp.

"You have to learn how to handle the leaf shinobi with care, just like they need to get use to you." 

"They are not glass-" Sakura responded leaning her head onto his shoulder. "-they are not going to break if handled harshly."

"You don't need to handle them like they will bite the hand that feeds them." Kakashi kissed the side of her head. "They are not going to turn against you like your use to. You can relax and get to know them, maybe have a conversation with a few of them."

"I do have conversations with them." Sakura muttered.

"No-" Kakashi shook his head, "-you yell at them while they listen."

"How else are they supposed to learn?" Sakura questioned with a tilt of her head.

"By not ordering them around." Kakashi replied.

"I took orders from Kaguya for years, who is more twisted than I am-"

"Just...try talking to them." Kakashi weakly smiled.

"Trying to talk to half of these shinobi is like swimming in the shallow end of the human gene pool." Sakura grumps to herself as she rolls her emerald eyes.

"Sakura-" Kakashi went to speak but was cut off by three quick knocks on the front door.

"I swear to God if it's that ninja, I am getting away with murder today." Sakura promised as Kakashi nervously opened the front door. The masked shinobi let out a sigh of relief seeing Carver standing in the doorway.

"Carver." Kakashi stated the leaf ninja's name, his muscles relaxing.

"Yo." Carver waved, "Sorry to interrupt-"

"Then don't." Sakura snipped.

"Well, someone woke up on the wrong side if the bed this morning." Carver murmured.

"Why am I looking at you?" Sakura asked.

"Because I am your favorite?" Carver joked. Sakura stared blankly at Carver.

"Hurtful." Carver pointed to her. "Anyway, I am afraid I have to steal you for a bit."

"You make it sound like being around me is a chore." Sakura commented sipping the steaming liquid in her coffee mug.

"I mean..." Carver trailed off, chewing the inside of his cheek as he gauged Sakura's stone expression. "...that's a trap."

"Why do you have to steal Sakura?" Kakashi wondered steering the conversation away from a fight.

"How big of a headache are you going to give me today?" Sakura asked, beating around the bush.

"Oh, come on!" Carver chuckled, "Don't I always provide you with a good time?"

"So, I should grab the prescription meds-"

"Rude!" Carver scoffed. "You only need the hard shit when Raiden is around."

"Uh-Huh." Sakura nodded glancing at Kakashi.

"Why are you so crappy?" Carver wondered as Sakura slid into her shoes. "Aren't you getting laid now?" Carver glanced at Kakashi who choked on his spit. "Why aren't you doing your job?"

"Alright-" Sakura announced, pushing Carver out of the apartment. "-shut up and walk, where are we going?"

"Oh, you're going to love this." A smug smile leered over Carver's face as he led Sakura and Kakashi out of their apartment building and into the warming streets of the leaf village.

\----

"Where are you taking us?" Kakashi wondered as they stepped their way through the luscious trees surrounding the hidden leaf village.

"Well..." A deep breath escaped passed Carver's lips as he turned his head to gaze lazily over his shoulder. "...we did our best to contain the situation-"

"What situation?" Sakura questioned.

"Ah well..." Carver trailed off, "...you'll just have to see it for yourselves." Carver nodded his head as the group emerged from the trees into a small clearing. Sakura gazed ahead, the cool breeze brushing over her exposed neck threading chills down her spine.

"This is one for the books." Sakura stated taking in the collection of black ops members who stood around a long blonde with a fiery attitude as their voices mixed and pooled together creating a waterfall of different sounds.

"I told you I never disappoint." Carver smirked at Sakura as he shook his head moving beside the blonde Hokage who struggled holding down the trashing body.

"What in the actual fuck?" Sakura breathed to herself watching the leaf village Hokage pin a young woman down, the unknown woman's face pressed into the cool grass.

"Wh-What are you!?" The young girl gasped as Commander Haruno came onto the scene. The woman couldn't have been older than sixteen with how her face still held onto its baby fat, the girl's short pink hair brushed her shoulders as she tried to wiggle free.

Sakura stared blankly as her nerves turned numb.

Every fiber inside Sakura's being urged her to pull a razor-sharp blade from her weapons pouch and slice the young woman's throat open. Sakura despired to feel the rushing blood running to freedom steam onto her fingers, painting her arms red.

"Sakura?" Kakashi's husky voice pulled the commanders attention back into a twisting reality.

"Sakura-" Tsunade called out in panic-stricken tone, "-what's going on!?"

"I don't know!" The young girl underneath Tsunade cried as large bubble tears filled her eyes. "Who is that-!?" The girl cried onto Tsunade's shoulder, "-why does she have my face!?"

"Commander?" Distilled voices muttered around the chilled night air as Sakura took in a deep breath.

"Who sent you?" Sakura went on questioning despite the hollow comments floating around her.

"Wh-What!?" The girl yelled out, glaring at Sakura as Kakashi flitched at the familiar sound.

"Who sent-"

"I know what you said!" The girl bit. "I just don't give a damn, Lady Tsunade what is going on!?"

"Who sent you?" Tsunade copied Sakura's question.

"What are you talking about!?" "The girl yelled as tears fell down her round cheeks. "No one sent me! I just-"

"Who are you?" Kakashi stepped forward.

"What?" The girl breathed, "Sensei how do you not-" Sakura cringed at the word. "know me! It's me! Sakura Haruno!"

"You are not Sakura Haruno." Tsunade shook her head.

"Yes, I am!" The girl cried into Tsunade. "I am your student and-"

"I-" Sakura stepped forward, anger bubbling inside her chest. "-am Sakura Haruno. Commander of this village."

"Wh-" The girl breathed with wide dull emerald eyes.

"And you need to start answering my questions-" Sakura glared down onto the helpless girl, "-before I start ripping them out of you."

"Sakura-"

"What?" The girl looked up as Tsunade spoke.

"-what is going on?" Tsunade finished, choosing to ignore the girl clinging onto her shirt as she kept her eyes locked onto the woman she made commander of her beloved village.

"That thing-" Sakura nodded down to the girl, "-is a print." 


	25. Chapter 25

"Is that statement supposed to mean something to me?" Tsunade sucked in her cheeks, making herself resemble a pouting child.

"Ugh." Sakura sighed throwing her head back by the lack of knowledge the leaf village held. "Lock it up." Sakura ordered the surrounding black ops.

"But..." One masked man dared to trail off.

Sakura spun on her heel, blood on her mind ready to bite into the ignorant person who dared speak! But before Kakashi could intervein another shinobi spoke up, spilling fuel onto the fire.

"How do we know you are even the real Saku-?"

"There you are!" Sakura growled as Naruto's voice cut through the crowd. "Wait...what the-!?" Naruto gasped out as his eyes bulged out of his skull upon seeing the young woman under Tsunade who claimed to be Sakura Haruno. Kakashi wrapped his arm around Naruto's head smothering his voice. "-Kaka-!?" Naruto tried to muffle out.

"You heard your Commander-" Tsunade stood, "-take her and put her into a cell!"

"But Granny-!" Naruto tried to speak despite Kakashi tightening his grip.

"Lady Tsunade..." Kain who held the honored position of squad leader inside her team. She stepped forward; her painted mask glowed against the waking morning. "...isn't this child your student-?"

"How fucking ignorant can you be!?" Sakura snapped seeing the squat leader not doing what she was told.

"With all due respect Commander-" Kain countered, turning to face Sakura. "-if you are truly legit or not has just been put into question. I knew there was something off about you the moment you stepped foot into this village."

"How dare you speak back to your Commander!" Tsunade hissed.

"I am just speaking the truth." Kain brushed her Hokages words off as she turned looking at the different hand painted masks around her. "The truth that we are all thinking."

Naruto's eyes widened as he watched Sakura simply smile.

 _"You should always be wary of a person when they smile Naruto."_ Sakura's sweet voice echoed around Naruto's head.

 _"What do you mean Sakura?"_ Naruto recalled questioning.

_"Most species will bare their teeth as a sign. Whether it be do to a threat, a display of aggression or to show leadership. You should always remember clenched jaws can and will always rip open your throat should they get the chance to."_

_"Wow Sakura, great way to ruin smiling for me."_

Naruto rapidly tapped Kakashi on the shoulder, he had a sour feeling in the pit of his stomach as he watched Sakura take a step closer to the black op shinobi.

"Funny-" Sakura tilted her head. "-I was just thinking the same thing about you."

"Thinking what?" Kain crossed her arms over her chest.

"How legit of a leader can you be if you can tergiversate so damn smoothly."

"How dare you suggest-!" Kain gasped, taking a step back as if she had been shot in the chest.

"Look at it-" Sakura gestured towards the girl beside Tsunade. "-I was banished seven years ago. If that was truly me, then how in the hell can it look how I did back then?"

"That is true..." Someone from the sidelines trailed off.

"Yeah." Another black op member agreed. "If that was the real Commander than she would look the same age as Haruno does right now."

"Now that I had to spell out the math for you-" Sakura glared into the squad leaders eyes, "-get it in a cell, Carver I want you watching it until I get there and don't let another fucking person see it. Do I make myself clear!?"

"Yes Commander!" The black op team quickly bowed and prepared to take their leave.

"And Kain, was it?"

"Yes Commander?"

"Get yourself out of my sight for a long while." Sakura threatened.

"But-"

"Enough." Tsunade called walking towards them. "Your Commander gave you an order, now you are expected to follow it."

"Y-Yes ma'am." Kain bowed her head before turning, following her team with the captive print.

"Well-" Tsunade huffed out. Kakashi released Naruto, who fell to the ground gasping desperately for the tart air. "-Sakura, can I see you in my office?"

"I mean no-" Sakura started to say.

"Sakura!" Tsunade snipped.

"Fine!" Sakura groaned, "I have a print on my hands along with a mountain of paperwork to do but it's fine! Let's have a meeting instead." Sakura growled passing Naruto and Kakashi.

"She really doesn't like meetings." Naruto muttered as he followed the group.

"No." Kakashi sighed, "No she does not."

\----

"So, Sakura-" Tsunade said as she calmly took a seat at her desk. "-would you like to inform me on-" Naruto closed the office door, "-on that the fuck just happened!?" Tsunade snapped as the door locked.

"You lasted longer than I thought you would." Sakura smirked taking a seat.

"This is no laughing matter!" Tsunade babbled on, "A person just showed up to our village looking the same as you did when you were ban...I can't even-"

"Take a breath." Sakura sighed.

"Sakura..." Naruto muttered, "...what was that thing!?"

"Naruto-" Sakura sighed as his high-pitched voice stung her ears.

"Is that girl real!? Is this some big trap or-?"

"Naruto!" Sakura yelled over his voice. "If you shut up, I can answer."

"Oh." Naruto blinked, "You're going to answer?"

"No shit." Sakura replied. "I don't really have a choice now do I?"

"You called it a print?" Kakashi questioned as he took a seat beside her. "What did you mean?"

"It's how it sounds." Sakura shrugged, hating that yet another piece of her past is being dragged into the light.

"I don't get it." Naruto blinked, leaning on the arm of Sakura's chair.

"That thing you saw looking like me when I was a kid, it is what is known as a print."

"Are they dangerous?" Tsunade wondered.

"They can be." Sakura shrugged, "When they are being controlled."

"Is that why you wanted it locked up so bad?" Tsunade asked.

"Yes." Sakura nodded, "I have gone up against a few of them, those things are faster and a whole lot stronger than just the average person."

"But what are they?" Naruto questioned, still feeling confused.

"A print is exactly what it sounds like." Sakura clarified, "It is a living breathing copy of a person."

"Are they real?" Tsunade felt fascinated, "Are they like shadow clones?"

"Not really." Sakura leaned back into the chair, "Shadow clones are still a piece of you. Whatever that clone does, you can recall and then they get damaged they vanish."

"You can't do that with a print?"

"No." Sakura said, "As far as I can tell there are two different types of prints, the one we saw today is type one. It can function on its own, it needs food and water to survive but it isn't real."

"It sure looked real." Naruto muttered.

"A print isn't really the person it appears to be. You saw it, that thing looked like me from before I was banished and yet here, I am sitting next to you." Kakashi reached out rubbing her shoulder with a smile on his lips hearing those warm words from her.

"Where did it come from?" Naruto wondered.

"That is what we need to figure out." Sakura said. "Whoever sent it can't be up to any good."

"Why?"

"Print are one of the hardest things to make." Sakura said.

"How?"

"It takes a great deal of chakra, perfect skill and technique. I can't even make one." Sakura answered.

"Well, that is an unsettling thought." Tsunade breathed, reaching behind her head letting her hair fall around her shoulders.

"Can I borrow Shizue for the day?" Sakura asked out of the blue.

"Hm?" Tsunade looked up, "What for?"

"Because-" Sakura sighed, "-I need to track where each of our shinobi have been outside the village."

"Why?" Naruto mumbled feeling hungry.

"In order to make a print-" Sakura turned to him, "-you need the DNA of the person you're trying to clone."

"DNA?" Naruto turned to Tsunade for her reaction.

"So-" The blonde shook her head, "-someone had to of had your DNA from back when you were sixteen?"

"Yeah." Sakura shrugged.

"Who the hell could have something for that long?" Naruto said, "That's kind of creepy."

"Yeah." Sakura agreed, "Not as creepy as seeing your younger self being pinned down by your boss."

"These prints that are brought back-" Kakashi butted in, "-are they that person who they were cloned from?"

"Yes and no." Sakura replied, "You are copying what their essence was. A print can be made with your friends' memories, their personalities, they could have everything that made your friend who they were, but they won't have their soul."

"So, it's a cheap knock off."

"Basically." Sakura nodded.

"Does that girl have a soul?" Tsunade wondered thinking about young Sakura sitting alone in a dark cell crying, her heart clenched inside her chest. Tsunade took in a deep breath, reminding herself that Sakura was indeed alive, and was sitting right across from her.

"Yes." Sakura answered,

"Then how-!?" Naruto jumped up.

"But it's a stolen soul."

"St-Stolen?" Naruto blinked.

"Stolen." Sakura confirmed.

"What do you mean its stolen!?" Naruto and Tsunade blurted out together.

"The last ingredient if you will-" Sakura yawned, "-for a print is a soul to sacrifice."

"Wh-Wh-What!?" Naruto shouted, "That's horrible! That's disgusting who on earth would do that-!?"

"It's usually the younger the better." Sakura smirked at Naruto's ghostly face.

"What!?" Naruto yelled.

"Why younger?" Kakashi questioned.

"Less fuss I guess." Sakura shrugged, "A younger soul is easier to take over where an older person who has lived a life won't let go as easy?" Sakura tilted her head, "There isn't a lot known about prints yet. I had hoped they died with the Reapers but it's clear that isn't the case."

"How do you know so much about them?" Kakashi wondered.

"You forget I went undercover inside the Reapers." Sakura replied,

"Did you-" Tsunade gasped, "-did you make one of those things!?"

"No." Sakura shook her head, "I couldn't, at the time I didn't have the chakra supply to do so."

"Did you have to watch those prints be made?" Naruto dared to question Sakura's checkered past.

"Ah..." Sakura sighed, "...they never got the chance too."

"What do you mean!?" Tsunade ushered the story on, wishing to hear the rest.

"I got deployed to one of the Reapers labs where they made the prints. It was right when my cover was blown, I took off to the lab with my team hoping that word hadn't gotten out about me yet. To my luck, the people in the lab lived under a rock so they hadn't heard the news yet."

"What did you do?!" Naruto grabbed onto every one of her words.

"The Nine rushed in, a fight broke out and we ended up destroying it." Sakura cleanly summed up.

"Why did they need a lab?" Tsunade wondered,

"Tsunade you were a part of the team that raided orochimaru's lab, right?" Sakura asked.

"Ye-Yes?" Tsunade gulped.

"I saw those pictures-" Sakura sat up, "-and his lab was a spring walk in a park compared to how the Reapers ran their ship."

"What were in those labs that could have been so bad?" Naruto asked.

"Do you think there could still be labs operating?" Tsunade whispered as she felt a cold sweat form on her back.

"Yes I do." Sakura said, "Now we need to deploy a team to track them down."

"Why!?" Naruto flagged attention onto himself. "What's so bad about these so-called labs that would have you-"

"These labs were more like prisons." Sakura bluntly replied, "-They had rows and rows of cells that held captive women. Those women were tied down and raped with the goal to become pregnant."

"B-But why on earth-"

"For those newborns." Sakura said, "The reapers wanted their souls."

"This all sounds crazy!" Naruto shook his head.

"Yeah." Sakura agreed, "I thought the same thing to until I seen it with my own eyes."

"That's...That's..."

"Absolutely revolting." Sakura answered for Naruto, "This is why I despise prints."

"Did you save any of those women before blowing up that lab?!" Naruto oddly found himself needing to know.

"Five." Sakura. "But zero made it back to the Waterfall Village."

"Wh-Why!? How could you-"

"They took their own life's." Sakura.

"Why didn't you stop them!?"

"Why are you getting so worked up?" Sakura asked, "You didn't see the condition those women were emotionally and phycially in, and it isn't like I handed them the damn knife. I did what I could, the best I could."

"Then how could you let-"

"I didn't let them do anything. I was injured in that fight, on top of trying to not bleed out on the forest floor I had a team and an army to watch over and in case you forgot half of them wanted to kill me, so I had my hands just a little full-!"

"Ok-" Tsunade stood, walking to stand in between them. "-that is enough. Naruto you cannot stand there and point fingers at her when you weren't even there."

"Sakura..." Kakashi whispered as he kneeled beside her. "...I had no idea you had to see-"

"There is a lot I'd rather you not know about my years away from this place." Sakura looked into his exposed eye, feeling shame sprout inside her heart.

"If prints look like a regular person-" Naruto sighed, "-how can we tell if they are prints or not?"

"I can see them with my eyes." Sakura answered, "They usually have a cloud around them."

"A cloud?" Tsunade muttered. "Why a cloud?"

"Well-" Sakura shrugged, "-when you hijack a soul you do end up leaving an imprint on it."

"Wow..." Tsunade breathed stunned by all the new information being discovered. "...you sent Carver to stand guard by the...print...why?"

"Because I trust him." Sakura said, "And he knows what they are."

"He does!?" Naruto gasped.

"Yeah..." Sakura trailed off. "...he was on the Nine with me?"

"Oh yeah, I forget that sometimes." Naruto nodded. "Sakura, I am sorry-"

"I know." Sakura nodded.

"No..." Naruto sighed, "...I really am, I just-"

"You're tired." Sakura smirked. "I get it, I changed everything, you and the rest of the shinobi are all adjusting to the longer hours and harder trainings."

"Well yeah, but are we ok?" Naruto muttered feeling his face heat up.

"Yes." Sakura lightly laughed as she rose to her feet. "Of course, we are ok."

"Wait where are you going?" Naruto asked watching Sakura turn to leave the room, she placed her hand on the doorknob as she gazed back to the three people closest to her.

"To talk to my other half." 

_**~~~~** _

_**As always there are more chapters to come!**_ 💙


End file.
